Waters

Starring: Oguri Shun, Hirayama Hirouki, Morimoto Ryoji, Kirishima Yusuke, Matsuo Toshinobu, Suga Takamasa, Katsurayama Shingo, Narumi Riko

Seven guys who need money start working at a host club. When they all get there, they discover that the manager of the club has run off with all their desposits. But the owner is kind and says that they can stay and work as hosts if they also run the entire venue themselves. With nothing left to lose, they decide to accept his offer. Also in the story are five women who are now successful entrepreneurs. Oguri Shun’s character knows the CEO and they had one of those friendly acquaintances/almost-lovers-but-not relationship.

Waters is your basic friendship story of several people who get thrown together randomly. The host club backdrop gives it a little spice, as well as plenty of humor, since they are all amateurs. It’s a lot of fun and Oguri Shun is really good in this one. I absolutely love the ending, though. It’s just too funny. Waters doesn’t have the most compelling storyline, but it is a definitely a fun watch.

Buy this movie: HK DVD | Korea Limited Edition

Backdancers

Starring: Hirayama Aya, hiro, Sonim, Saeko, Tanaka Kei, Hasebe Yu

The story starts out with Miyu (Hirayama Aya) and Yoshika (hiro) as high school students who love to dance. They always sneak into clubs just to dance, but one night are caught by the police and are forced to quit school. After that, they meet Juri (Hasebe Yu) and the three begin dancing as a trio. Juri is eventually scouted and debuts as the next big pop sensation. Miyu and Yoshika are brought in as back-up dancers along with Tomoe (Sonim) and Aiko (Saeko). Together they are known as the Backdancers. But what are they to do when suddenly Juri decides to retire and get married?

Although Backdancers is a friendship story, it also mixes in a bit of romance, family life, and music industry criticism. I’ve watched this movie like three or four times, but for me it doesn’t get old (or at least, it hasn’t yet). The plot is fun and interesting and the cast is great as well. They all come off as very good friends and get along really well. It’s like in romance stories, one of the most important thing is for the two leads to have good on-screen chemistry, well Backdancers has really good on-screen friendship-chemistry and that’s what makes this movie so good.

Buy this movie: HK DVD

Secret

Starring: Jay Chou, Guey Lun Mei, Anthony Wong, Tseng Kai Xuan

Jay Chou stars as Ye Xiang Lun who transfers to a music school where his father (Anthony Wong) is a teacher at. There he meets Xiao Yu (Guey Lun Mei), a mysterious and charming pianist. The two become very good friends, but everytime Xiang Lun asks anything personal about Xiao Yu, she would only say that it is a secret.

I enjoyed this sweet love story and the entire thing was very pretty to watch. Also being set at a music school, the soundtrack was really good (especially since Jay Chou is a great composer). But this movie has a lot of plot holes and unanswered questions, which if you can ignore them all, it will the movie more entertaining. Guey Lun Mei is really charming and a dream to watch and is definitely the star of the movie.

Buy this movie: HK DVD

Ao to Shiro no Mizuiro

Starring: Miyazaki Aoi, Oguri Shun, Aoi Yuu, Konishi Manami

Actually, this isn’t a movie, but a drama special. So it’s like a movie, right? Anyway, Kaede (Miyazaki Aoi) and Kasumi (Aoi Yuu) used to be best friends. But when they entered high school, Kasumi became more popular than Kaede, causing her to start bullying her ex-friend. One day, she meets new student Takumi (Oguri Shun) who is an expert at picking locks. She asks him to open the door to the school roof, but he refuses, saying that he’ll teach her how to pick locks instead.

Maybe this sounds like a friendship story, but it’s more like a bullying story. It’s rather short, clocking in at a mere 45 minutes, but it definitely accomplishes as much plot-wise as a full-length movie. The leads are all very good, you get to see a young Miyazaki Aoi, Oguri Shun, and Aoi Yuu. It’s interesting to note that they are all accomplished actors/actresses now (including Konishi Manami). There aren’t any subtitles available for this special, but it should be mostly okay, because there isn’t very much dialogue and most of the story is conveyed through body language.

Buy this movie: Japan DVD

Tracklist
1. Niu Zai Hen Mang
2. Cai Hong
3. Qing Hua Ci
4. Yang Guang Zhai Nan
5. Pu Gong Ying De Yue Ding
6. Wu Shuang
7. Wo Bu Pei
8. Che
9. Tian Tian De
10. Zui Chang De Diang Ying

Wo Hen Mang (I’m really busy)/ On the Run is Jay Chou’s 8th album. It was released on November 2, 2007 and peaked at #1 on the Mandarin charts for two weeks. It contained songs from his semi-recent movie, Secret, and was also Jay’s first release on his newly formed record label.

Niu Zai Hen Mang is a Chinese take on a Western-style song. The first time I listened to it, it was quite strange and I was sort of confused. But after listening to it a few more times later on, I began to really like it. It’s really catchy, and the chorus is pretty nice. And as a side note, but is it just me or is Jay really really unconvincing as a cowboy?

The next track is Cai Hong, a ballad. It’s a sweet song with a nice acoustic backing (and later on, a simple, calming arrangement). I like it, but it’s pretty standard and not too memorable. The most interesting part of the song is the short R&B-style part in the middle.

Qing Hua Ci is another ballad, this time with a fuller arrangement and a more Asian-sound to it. I really like the simple melody and beats in this track and the arrangement is super nice. Plus, since Jay’s vocals aren’t exactly the strongest or most powerful, they suit a softer song like this.

Yang Guang Zhai Nan is an upbeat pop-rock track. The arrangement is nothing too special, especially coming from Jay who is known for amazing compositions. The melody is really nice, simple but pretty catchy and easy to remember.

Next is a piano ballad, Pu Gong Ying De Yue Ding. I love the piano solo in this piece and the entire arrangement is rather pretty, especially when the strings are added. The melody is quite pretty and though the vocals sound a bit sad, the melody is somewhat uplifting, which is a nice contrast.

Wu Shang immediately has a darker tinge and goes back the R&B style. The arrangement is just amazing and utilizes so many different elements at different parts to get different feelings. I really like the chorus here and I’d have to say this is my favorite song off the cd.

Wo Bu Pei is an R&B ballad. The arrangement and rhythms are nice, but is just standard R&B stuff. I do like the melodies, especially the chorus, because it’s so easy to remember (and that it’s repeated so many times in the song).

Che starts off with a short conversation before going into a hip-hop and R&B fusion. The rhythms are nice and pretty catchy and the melodies are pretty nice, but generally the song is somewhat repetitive.

The next track is the upbeat Tian Tian De. I like the chorus a lot, it’s simple and sounds quite cute. The arrangement is pretty standard pop-rock, although I do really like the keyboard solo in the middle.

The album ends with Zui Chang De Diang Ying, a piano ballad. The piano is gorgeous here, and the strings sound super nice. I do really enjoy this, the melody is quite pretty and sad. Though, I’m not sure it’s good enough to end the album on; there were definitely stronger ballads that could have ended the album on a higher note.

Buy this single: CD+DVD