Nobunaga Concerto

Rate 7.8/10

Cast

• Shun Oguri as Nobunaga Oda / Saburo / Mitsuhide Akechi
• Kou Shibasaki as Kichou
• Osamu Mukai as Tsuneoki Ikeda
• Takayuki Yamada as Denjiro Tahara
• Kaho as Yuki

Episodes: 11

Saburo (Shun Oguri) is a fainthearted high school boy who always runs away when he faces a trouble. One day, he accidentally time travels to the Sengoku Era, where wars between nations are everyday occurence. There, he meets Nobunaga Oda, the son of a warlord and magistrate of the lower Owari Province, who looks just like him. Nobunaga then asks Saburo to take his place. Saburo, not realizing that he's already traveled back in time, accepts his request. Problems arises when he finds out that a lot of people are after Nobunaga;s head.

Shun Oguri and Takayuki Yamada reunites after Crows Zero, great casts for a drama alongside other great actors. The plot is quite simple but the amazing casts really make this drama stands out. Most of the episodes are hilarious with a hint of action. This story shows us the reality of life in Sengoku Era where deaths and wars are considered normal, but in a hilarious way. Although some parts are a little bit heartbreaking, this drama still hold its comedy base. The only weakness of this is the cliffhanger at the end, it desperately needs season two.

Image source: http://aramajapan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/aramajapan_ogurishun.jpg

Cold Eyes

 

Rate 8.2/10

Cast

• Seol Kyeong Gu as Chief Detective Hwang
• Jung Woo Sung as James
• Han Hyo Joo as Detective Ha Yoon Joo
• Lee Jun Ho as Detective Squirrel

Ha Yoon Joo (Han Hyo Joo) is a new member in an elite surveillance unit of Korean Police Forces led by chief detective Hwang (Seol Kyeong Gu). While she's training, a professional bank robber group is on the move. Yoon Joo's surveilance team is then assigned to track down the bank robber group and its leader, James (Jung Woo).

This movie attracts my attention right from the beginning. A very good plot with great characters, intense actions throughout the movie. It keeps you wonder what will happen next. Highly entertaining for action movie fans.  

Image source:  http://filmpulse.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Cold-Eyes-Poster.jpg

Triangle

Rate 8/10

Cast

• Melissa George as Jess
• Michael Dorman as Greg
• Rachael Carpani as Sally
• Henry Nixon as Downey
• Emma Lung as Heather
• Liam Hemsworth as Victor
• Joshua McIvor as Tommy

Jess (Melissa George), a single mother prepares to go to a boat trip with her son, Tommy (Joshua McIvor). Sometime later, she arrives in the harbor alone, and joins a boat trip with her friend, Greg (Michael Dorman). They go for the trip with Victor (Liam Hemsworth), a married couple Sally (Rachael Carpani) and Downey (Henry Nixon), and Heather (Emma Lung). Their trip goes smooth until a weird storm approaches and Heather is swept out from the boat. The survivors stay on the upturned boat. Suddenly, a large cruise shows up before them. They decide to ask help from the cruise only to find out that the cruise is empty. 

One of the best movies I watched. My favorite kind of movie, a little twist in the plot. Intriguing, it keeps you engaged, every seconds of it. Amazing plot that makes you wonder how it will end, and I couldn't predict that ending (God, I feel so dumb sometimes). I got surprised a lot watching this one. Everyone needs to watch this.

Image source:http://m.niusnews.com/upload/imgs/default/13NovE/chloecarrie/6.jpg 

Zenkai Girl (Full Throttle Girl)

Rate 7.7/10

Cast

• Yui Aragaki as Wakaba Aikawa
• Ryo Nishikido as Sota Yamada
• Hiroyuki Hirayama as Kyoichi Shindo
• Misako Renbutsu as Soyoko Shiota
• Serai Takagi as Emitaro Yamada
• Kanon Tani as Hinata Sakurakawa

Episodes: 11

Wakaba Aikawa (Yui Aragaki) wants to become an international lawyer. Chasing her dreams, she gets a job at Samezima Sakuragawa law firm, a reputable law firm in Japan. She's surprised when her boss orders her to babysit her daughter, Hinata (Kanon Tani). Because she doesn't want to lose her new job, she decides to take care of Hinata. One day, she accidentally meets Sota Yamada (Ryo Nishikido) whom she mistaken as a pervert. Sota turns out to be reliable when it comes to taking care of children, she ends up getting help from him to look after Hinata.

I really love this drama's plot. Just like any other dramas, this drama's main plot is romance, but it's good to see it doesn't only focus on that topic. I love how they show the reality of a hard job-seeking in the real world, how everyone has to work hard to chase his/her dreams, how cruel a boss can do to you. Every character seems real and it's nice to see their determination to be a better person. The chemistry is great and Ryo Nishikado becomes one of my favorite actors after this drama. But the ones who steal the spotlight are the child actors. I don't know where they find them, but these 5-year olds are impressive, they can act well at such a young age. And the interactions between the characters are simple yet heart-warming. A good drama indeed. 

      

Image source: http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/thyfloatinglily/24331637/38753/38753_original.jpg 

Ma Boy

Rate 7.8/10

Cast 

• Kim So Hyun as Geu Rim
• Sun Woong as Hyun Woo (Irene)

Episodes : 3

Geu Rim (Kim So Hyun), a girl whose dreams to become a singer joins an art high school where some popular young idols go to. She lives in a dorm with Irene (Sun Woong), a beautiful popular singer in the school. Troubles arise when she finds out that Irene is actually a boy in disguise.

Funny, innocent, and cute at the same time. The plot is actually old, a boy disguises himself as a girl. But, it's very entertaining right from the start until the end. Hilarious and I can't help to fall in love with the characters. It's funny that I really didn't realize that Sun Woong is a boy (I didn't read any review before watching this drama), she's very very pretty. And I really love that this drama is so short (only 3 episodes!) but it can slay any other dramas I watched. Anyway, if you want to watch a light, funny, heart-warming drama, you need to watch this.

   

Image source :http://asianwiki.com/images/f/fb/Ma_Boy-0015.jpg

Puzzle

Rate 6.6/10

Cast

• Kaho as Azusa Nakamura
• Shuhei Nomura as Shigeo Yuasa
• Kazuya Takahashi as Mitome
• Saori Yagi as Yuasa's mother
• Kokone Sasaki as Teacher Yasuda
• Baku Owada as President Takai

Azusa Nakamura (Kaho), a high school student, tries to commit suicide by jumping off the school building, but she survives. Shigeo Yuasa (Shuhei Nomura), a seemingly bullied boy at school visits her in the hospital frequently. A month later, a group of students wearing sunflower masks terror the school by torturing  a teacher, Yasuda (Kokone Sasaki). To save her, the other teachers must complete a puzzle prepared by the students. The terror continues when the headmaster Takai (Baku Owada) and three male students disappear from the school. The whole town is in a panic as all of them have to join to solve the puzzles to save the missing people.

This movie reminds me of Saw at first, but it actually quite different as the story progress. I love thriller, but this movie seems like it's only focused on torture without a strong background for the mastermind of all the terrors. I really hate all the tortures and blood, it's just too much for me. The plot is quite interesting and the actors did great, but I just can't handle too much gore. Recommended if you like slasher movies. 

Image source:http://asianwiki.com/images/2/2b/Puzzle_(Japanese_Movie)-p1.jpg 

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Rate 7.8/10

Cast

• Colin Firth as Harry Hart (Galahad)
• Taron Egerton as Gary Unwin (Eggsy)
• Michael Caine as Arthur
• Samuel L. Jackson as Valentine 
• Sofia Boutella as Gazelle
• Mark Strong as Merlin

Kingsman, a secret spy organization, has lost one of their spies in the hands of Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). Needing a new agent, each spy in Kingsman has to bring a candidate to fill in the vacancy. Harry Hart (Colin Firth) chose Eggsy (Taron Egerton) to be his candidate. While Eggsy carries out a series of training, Valentine starts to find out about the existence of Kingsman and tries to find them.

This movie is great, amazing casts (as expected from Michael Caine and Samuel L. Jackson), the plot is interesting although you can guess the rest of the story from the opening. It's fast-paced and a little bit like Bond movies for the gadgets and classy agent style. It's action-packed right from the beginning, but I can't deny that I hate some of it for its large amounts of blood. It's a little bit too gory for me. If you enjoy lots of action, then this is the one for you. 

Image source:http://www.joblo.com/movie-posters/kingsman-the-secret-service-06 

Tazza: The Hidden Card

Rate 7.8/10

Cast

• Choi Seung Hyun (T.O.P) as Ham Dae Gil
• Shin Se Kyung as Heo Mi Na
• Kim Yun Seok as Aw Kwi
• Yu Hae Jin as Ko Kwang Ryeol
• Lee Ha Nui as President Woo
• Kwak Do Won as Jang Dong Sik

Ham Dae Gil (Choi Seung Hyun), is a very skilled hwatu, a Korean card game player. When he leaves his small town to Seoul, he enters the world of gambling. But his skills are useless when he's faced with groups of swindlers. His life turns and twists with every card players he's faced. 

The movie starts off fun and turns dark very quickly. The plot is great, the story is fast-paced but easy to follow. And T.O.P turns out to be a really good actor despite his background as a Kpop idol. The actors in this movie are perfect although I don't really like Shin Se Kyung for having the same traits for every single character she played. But, overall this movie is highly entertaining from the start until the very end.

Image Source : https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/Tazza,_The_Hidden_Card.jpg