[Reviews] Bayside Shakedown, Every Dog Has His Date, La Brassiere & The Others (R3)
02-28-02, 05:00 PM
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[Reviews] Bayside Shakedown, Every Dog Has His Date, La Brassiere & The Others (R3)
Bayside Shakedown
The cover looks like a Tokyo Raiders knock-off. The music as well sounds alot like Tokyo Raiders. The beginning of the film also has a stylish look to it, much like Tokyo Raiders. The plot however, isn't anything like Tokyo Raiders. Perhaps I went into this with the wrong expectations. It's not that I figured it would be like Tokyo Raiders, but I at least thought it would have a bit more action in it. It's more of a mystery/suspense/drama type of movie. It's about a local Bayside police precinct that gets a bunch of loosely connected crimes thrown their way all at once. The Metropolitan Police Department take over the Bayside headquarters and the investigation of the kidnapping of the MPD Commissioner while the local force takes on a murder and some petty theft crimes that occured in their main office. The outcome is fairly predictable at every turn with perhaps one or two minor surprises or twists, but in the end we didn't really care much either way.
Normally I really enjoy Japanese films... they really know how to put a spit and shine on their movies and the acting is usually pretty good... they also know a thing or two about going over the top. Bayside Shakedown seemed to be very melodramatic and the actors just seemed to be playing these one-dimensional characatures of old movie cliches. The plot didn't really keep me in suspense either. In order to achieve a level of drama, they would just extend the scenes way beyond the length they should be and crank up the sad music. There was a little bit of humor running throughout the film which might've been part of what hurt it. It lightened up the film, but in doing so it also dissolved the tension and drama. The opening credits were quite flashy and stylish reminding me of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch... I don't know, but I'd guess this is a movie version of a popular TV series in Japan. I think the film had its moments, but some of it was unbearable... Some of the plot devices were so far left of reality that it just made the whole thing hard to swallow. I think the thing that bothered me most was a 30 minute drive to the hospital in an unmarked police car at 15 mph even though there was no traffic and ambulences everywhere.
Also, I know it's just different in Japan and the use of guns there differs from here in the US (where everyone pretty much has a gun), but it didn't help much that nobody carries a gun in this movie or ever pulls one out or fires one. One gun is shown in the film, but it's not held by a police officer and nothing really comes of the situation. I wouldn't be so bothered except that the cover shows five members of the cast pointing their guns in all directions indicating that the film is a shoot-em-up type of action film. There's pretty much zero action in this film. There are a few saving graces in Bayside Shakedown... some of the characters are likeable enough that we wanted to keep watching to see what happened to them... we weren't satisfied with the outcomes, but oh well. It was just really cheesey.
The DVD presentation is great - Ocean Shores did a great job with the transfer and the sound is good as well. The menus are also impressive. I didn't venture into anything besides language subtitles and play, so I can't comment on anything else... but I don't think there was much else. The subtitles were excellent for a job done overseas... there were a few recurring typo or spelling mistakes, but it was all pretty minimal and everything seemed to translate well. Plus they were easy to read which is a plus.
I didn't hate it... I guess I'm being harder on this film because I was expecting more from it (it claims it made more than 100 million US dollars in Japanese Box Office receipts), but I certainly wouldn't say it's the worst film I've ever seen. It wasn't all that great, but I'd still give it a 6/10. That's a passing grade, but I'm gonna give this a
and say I can't really recommend it to people I know. I can see though that some people would like and do like this movie, so I guess this is one you should see for yourself. I'm not sure yet whether this will stay in my collection or go... I'll see what my roommate thinks of it.
Every Dog Has His Date
This is a funny little romantic comedy starring Cheung Ka Fai and Michele Reis. It's about a guy who switches bodies with a woman's dog and the madcap hilarities ensue. It's actually pretty dumb, but it manages to be rather cute. The special effects in this are very low budget - in fact, there are only a few CGI scenes - one to show the switch (hiding wires and a lightshow) and another to show a dog winking. Outside of that, they basically wing it with the dogs barking or chewing to handle the talking (which doesn't really come about much since most of the dogs talking is done telepathically between the dogs I guess) - in the beginning of the film they tried this awful animatronic dog and it was just so poor that they stopped doing it. At least they stopped, but it would've been nice to just re-shoot the two or three scenes.
The characters are fairly interesting and the acting is appropriate for a romantic comedy. The story has a few holes and some of it is just downright stupid, but it's on about the same level as all the other switcheroo films (Freaky Friday, Like Father Like Son, Vice Versa, etc...). Don't expect too much and you'll probably get a few giggles out of it. It's a good date movie I guess. My girlfriend kinda liked it too. It's just cute.
The DVD is on par with what Universe has been turning out lately. Nothing out of the ordinary. Decent release.
Overall I'd give this film a 6/10 and a
for a fun romantic comedy. There's better out there, but this one is worth watching I think.
La Brassiere
This one is pretty good. It's a light romantic comedy about a bra design company who hires a couple of men to design the "Ultimate Bra" and contribute some fresh ideas from a new perspective. Ching Wan Lau and Louis Koo play the fish out of water here among a sea of beautiful women (and at one point or another you get to see pretty much all of them in a bra). The film starts out really funny and then slowly loses steam by the end. It never really fizzles out completely, but it doesn't manage to keep up the pace it sets for itself early on. The cast seems to have had a great time making this film. They also left in some scenes that should've been outtakes or deleted scenes because the actors are at times breaking character and cracking up at each others' antics. I can imagine it was hard to keep a straight face while Ching Wan Lau wears a bra stuffed with water baloons.
Overall, the story is just a means to get these characters together in these funny situations. This film is nothing more than a light comedy to lift your spirits and possibly make you laugh. The film never takes itself too seriously and neither should the audience. The romance in the film is light too, save for a few moments of mushy sentiment and sappy dialogue. I enjoyed this film, but I wish they had been able to keep up the pace from beginning to end. I'd give it a 7.5/10 since I've seen funnier films, but I can definitely recommend this film with a if you're in the mood for a light romantic comedy.
The DVD is China Star and my only complaint is that the subtitles were a bit on the small side. They weren't burned in, they were just small. There are a decent amount of extras here as well. Great DVD.
The Others
It's a US film, so I won't review it here. I would give it a 10/10 though if you asked. I think it was #1 or #2 on my list of favorites in 2001. The R3 Universe DVD is what I watched it on tonight. I saw it in the theaters of course. Anyway... I only got this because DDDHouse ran out of Eternal Evil of Asia (the one set aside for me got scratched so I needed a substitute) and my other choice was more money... I was planning to get the R1 release when it came out. Well - I watched it on my Malata and I can report that the video has some pluses and minuses. It's a pretty dark movie and I had to lower the gamma and brightness in order to make the blacks look black instead of grey. Also the darker scenes showed some horizontal banding. I had to darken the picture to make those go away. The way I had it, it looked pretty good except in some parts where the black was fading into lighter black and it looked kinda funny. Instead of blending in gradually, the colors would be large masses of the same color. I don't know why it did this or what this is called, but you see it on VCDs alot. Other than that, the picture is really sharp and the colors are vibrant. The DTS sound is good - I wouldn't say it's awesome. The disc is pretty plain otherwise. I'd say it's worth the 8 or 9 bucks from DDDHouse if you're on the fence about this film or haven't seen it yet. If you love the film though, just wait until the R1 version appears. I hear the extras will be nice and that they decided to put a DTS track on after all. Perhaps I'll pop it in my region free Toshiba and let you know if the colors and darkness are a problem there.
The cover looks like a Tokyo Raiders knock-off. The music as well sounds alot like Tokyo Raiders. The beginning of the film also has a stylish look to it, much like Tokyo Raiders. The plot however, isn't anything like Tokyo Raiders. Perhaps I went into this with the wrong expectations. It's not that I figured it would be like Tokyo Raiders, but I at least thought it would have a bit more action in it. It's more of a mystery/suspense/drama type of movie. It's about a local Bayside police precinct that gets a bunch of loosely connected crimes thrown their way all at once. The Metropolitan Police Department take over the Bayside headquarters and the investigation of the kidnapping of the MPD Commissioner while the local force takes on a murder and some petty theft crimes that occured in their main office. The outcome is fairly predictable at every turn with perhaps one or two minor surprises or twists, but in the end we didn't really care much either way.
Normally I really enjoy Japanese films... they really know how to put a spit and shine on their movies and the acting is usually pretty good... they also know a thing or two about going over the top. Bayside Shakedown seemed to be very melodramatic and the actors just seemed to be playing these one-dimensional characatures of old movie cliches. The plot didn't really keep me in suspense either. In order to achieve a level of drama, they would just extend the scenes way beyond the length they should be and crank up the sad music. There was a little bit of humor running throughout the film which might've been part of what hurt it. It lightened up the film, but in doing so it also dissolved the tension and drama. The opening credits were quite flashy and stylish reminding me of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch... I don't know, but I'd guess this is a movie version of a popular TV series in Japan. I think the film had its moments, but some of it was unbearable... Some of the plot devices were so far left of reality that it just made the whole thing hard to swallow. I think the thing that bothered me most was a 30 minute drive to the hospital in an unmarked police car at 15 mph even though there was no traffic and ambulences everywhere.
Also, I know it's just different in Japan and the use of guns there differs from here in the US (where everyone pretty much has a gun), but it didn't help much that nobody carries a gun in this movie or ever pulls one out or fires one. One gun is shown in the film, but it's not held by a police officer and nothing really comes of the situation. I wouldn't be so bothered except that the cover shows five members of the cast pointing their guns in all directions indicating that the film is a shoot-em-up type of action film. There's pretty much zero action in this film. There are a few saving graces in Bayside Shakedown... some of the characters are likeable enough that we wanted to keep watching to see what happened to them... we weren't satisfied with the outcomes, but oh well. It was just really cheesey.
The DVD presentation is great - Ocean Shores did a great job with the transfer and the sound is good as well. The menus are also impressive. I didn't venture into anything besides language subtitles and play, so I can't comment on anything else... but I don't think there was much else. The subtitles were excellent for a job done overseas... there were a few recurring typo or spelling mistakes, but it was all pretty minimal and everything seemed to translate well. Plus they were easy to read which is a plus.
I didn't hate it... I guess I'm being harder on this film because I was expecting more from it (it claims it made more than 100 million US dollars in Japanese Box Office receipts), but I certainly wouldn't say it's the worst film I've ever seen. It wasn't all that great, but I'd still give it a 6/10. That's a passing grade, but I'm gonna give this a
and say I can't really recommend it to people I know. I can see though that some people would like and do like this movie, so I guess this is one you should see for yourself. I'm not sure yet whether this will stay in my collection or go... I'll see what my roommate thinks of it.Every Dog Has His Date
This is a funny little romantic comedy starring Cheung Ka Fai and Michele Reis. It's about a guy who switches bodies with a woman's dog and the madcap hilarities ensue. It's actually pretty dumb, but it manages to be rather cute. The special effects in this are very low budget - in fact, there are only a few CGI scenes - one to show the switch (hiding wires and a lightshow) and another to show a dog winking. Outside of that, they basically wing it with the dogs barking or chewing to handle the talking (which doesn't really come about much since most of the dogs talking is done telepathically between the dogs I guess) - in the beginning of the film they tried this awful animatronic dog and it was just so poor that they stopped doing it. At least they stopped, but it would've been nice to just re-shoot the two or three scenes.
The characters are fairly interesting and the acting is appropriate for a romantic comedy. The story has a few holes and some of it is just downright stupid, but it's on about the same level as all the other switcheroo films (Freaky Friday, Like Father Like Son, Vice Versa, etc...). Don't expect too much and you'll probably get a few giggles out of it. It's a good date movie I guess. My girlfriend kinda liked it too. It's just cute.
The DVD is on par with what Universe has been turning out lately. Nothing out of the ordinary. Decent release.
Overall I'd give this film a 6/10 and a
for a fun romantic comedy. There's better out there, but this one is worth watching I think.La Brassiere
This one is pretty good. It's a light romantic comedy about a bra design company who hires a couple of men to design the "Ultimate Bra" and contribute some fresh ideas from a new perspective. Ching Wan Lau and Louis Koo play the fish out of water here among a sea of beautiful women (and at one point or another you get to see pretty much all of them in a bra). The film starts out really funny and then slowly loses steam by the end. It never really fizzles out completely, but it doesn't manage to keep up the pace it sets for itself early on. The cast seems to have had a great time making this film. They also left in some scenes that should've been outtakes or deleted scenes because the actors are at times breaking character and cracking up at each others' antics. I can imagine it was hard to keep a straight face while Ching Wan Lau wears a bra stuffed with water baloons.
Overall, the story is just a means to get these characters together in these funny situations. This film is nothing more than a light comedy to lift your spirits and possibly make you laugh. The film never takes itself too seriously and neither should the audience. The romance in the film is light too, save for a few moments of mushy sentiment and sappy dialogue. I enjoyed this film, but I wish they had been able to keep up the pace from beginning to end. I'd give it a 7.5/10 since I've seen funnier films, but I can definitely recommend this film with a
if you're in the mood for a light romantic comedy.The DVD is China Star and my only complaint is that the subtitles were a bit on the small side. They weren't burned in, they were just small. There are a decent amount of extras here as well. Great DVD.
The Others
It's a US film, so I won't review it here. I would give it a 10/10 though if you asked. I think it was #1 or #2 on my list of favorites in 2001. The R3 Universe DVD is what I watched it on tonight. I saw it in the theaters of course. Anyway... I only got this because DDDHouse ran out of Eternal Evil of Asia (the one set aside for me got scratched so I needed a substitute) and my other choice was more money... I was planning to get the R1 release when it came out. Well - I watched it on my Malata and I can report that the video has some pluses and minuses. It's a pretty dark movie and I had to lower the gamma and brightness in order to make the blacks look black instead of grey. Also the darker scenes showed some horizontal banding. I had to darken the picture to make those go away. The way I had it, it looked pretty good except in some parts where the black was fading into lighter black and it looked kinda funny. Instead of blending in gradually, the colors would be large masses of the same color. I don't know why it did this or what this is called, but you see it on VCDs alot. Other than that, the picture is really sharp and the colors are vibrant. The DTS sound is good - I wouldn't say it's awesome. The disc is pretty plain otherwise. I'd say it's worth the 8 or 9 bucks from DDDHouse if you're on the fence about this film or haven't seen it yet. If you love the film though, just wait until the R1 version appears. I hear the extras will be nice and that they decided to put a DTS track on after all. Perhaps I'll pop it in my region free Toshiba and let you know if the colors and darkness are a problem there.
03-01-02, 10:45 AM
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Gotta disagree with you on Bayside Shakedown.
I watched this about almost years ago on DVD, and totally enjoyed it.
Bayside Shakedown is based on the very popular Japanese TV series.
Which came first, Bayside Shakedown or Tokyo Raiders?
Why did you expect it to be like Tokyo Raiders?
I though the music was cool, and the story made the movie.
There was all these separate threads that made the movie fun, and were resolved at the end.
And the nods to other movies, Silence Of The Lambs stands out, were fun. Some nice cinematography too.
I still remember all this after 2 years.... says something about the movie.
J.T.
I watched this about almost years ago on DVD, and totally enjoyed it.
Bayside Shakedown is based on the very popular Japanese TV series.
Which came first, Bayside Shakedown or Tokyo Raiders?
Why did you expect it to be like Tokyo Raiders?
I though the music was cool, and the story made the movie.
There was all these separate threads that made the movie fun, and were resolved at the end.
And the nods to other movies, Silence Of The Lambs stands out, were fun. Some nice cinematography too.
I still remember all this after 2 years.... says something about the movie.
J.T.
Last edited by jtkv; 03-01-02 at 10:47 AM.
03-01-02, 03:01 PM
#3
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Thread Starter
Originally posted by jtkv
Gotta disagree with you on Bayside Shakedown.
I watched this about almost years ago on DVD, and totally enjoyed it.
Bayside Shakedown is based on the very popular Japanese TV series.
Which came first, Bayside Shakedown or Tokyo Raiders?
Why did you expect it to be like Tokyo Raiders?
I though the music was cool, and the story made the movie.
There was all these separate threads that made the movie fun, and were resolved at the end.
And the nods to other movies, Silence Of The Lambs stands out, were fun. Some nice cinematography too.
I still remember all this after 2 years.... says something about the movie.
J.T.
Gotta disagree with you on Bayside Shakedown.
I watched this about almost years ago on DVD, and totally enjoyed it.
Bayside Shakedown is based on the very popular Japanese TV series.
Which came first, Bayside Shakedown or Tokyo Raiders?
Why did you expect it to be like Tokyo Raiders?
I though the music was cool, and the story made the movie.
There was all these separate threads that made the movie fun, and were resolved at the end.
And the nods to other movies, Silence Of The Lambs stands out, were fun. Some nice cinematography too.
I still remember all this after 2 years.... says something about the movie.
J.T.
Anyhow, I know most people like this film and I'm in the minority about this... I just find the cover misleading and I think I was let down by the film due to my own expectations being a bit high. My girlfriend didn't care for it much either. I'll give it another chance sometime though since my opinion of this film is so unpopular.
03-02-02, 11:59 PM
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The TV series(which came way before Tokyo Raiders, same with the movie) is more of a comedy at heart, thus the lack of action. I happened to like it very much even though I saw the movie before I saw the series. I admired it for the comedy, which was VERY satirical I think and I liked how the director leaves some specific moment quiet for the audience to get the joke. The director repeats that in Space Traveler.
Or maybe you shouldn't have expected anything from the cover, the poster I saw for the movie had the main character holding a gun and talking on the radio, I thought it'd be a private detective movie.
Or maybe you shouldn't have expected anything from the cover, the poster I saw for the movie had the main character holding a gun and talking on the radio, I thought it'd be a private detective movie.
03-06-02, 08:03 AM
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Just finished watching La Brassiere last night. I also will recommend it to others looking for an entertaining movie that isn't serious. (I haven't laughed that hard since watching God of Cookery or King of Beggars)
Ching Wan Lau really cracked me up. His facial expressions were superb. Up to this point, I had seen him typecast as primarily as a detective in many movies...
The movie is full of verbal zingers as well.
I agree, the subs are small.
Cheers,
Gabe
Ching Wan Lau really cracked me up. His facial expressions were superb. Up to this point, I had seen him typecast as primarily as a detective in many movies...
The movie is full of verbal zingers as well.
I agree, the subs are small.
Cheers,
Gabe
