Zettai Reido SP

Japanese title: 絶対零度 Special
Number of episodes: 1

Some info @ DramaWiki

A special episode that was aired not long (like a few days) before the start of the second season, this standalone episode thankfully isn’t merely a recap of the events and cases that took place in its debut season. It takes place a few months after the end of its first season, and there is a new case this time for investigation.

But of course, there are some really quick flashbacks of some of the memorable moments from the first season. These scenes take up a very, very minor proportion of this special episode so don’t worry, it’s mostly entirely new content.

The star of the show is no longer with the team she worked with in season 1, but a newly popped up evidence that has some links to an unsolved case many years back has led them together for a joint investigation, to concentrate on both the present case, and the one left unsolved. So essentially we will still get to see the familiar team together, just that not all of them are in the same department. For those who have not watched this series before, there might be some relations that may not be so obvious, but I would say it is mostly fine even if you have started from here.

The ending was a little unexpected (although I heard of some spoilers), and I wonder if it will be “continued” in the second season, which viewers will get a quick trailer and glimpse into what season 2 has in store for us at the end of the episode. Season 2 looks to be more exciting and I would probably be picking that up in time to come. Not sure if this is a bridging episode of sorts,  but if you liked the first season, this special should be an enjoyable one too.

V for Vendetta

Rating: M18
Running time: 132 minutes
Now out on DVD and Blu-ray!

Some info:
1) Wikipedia
2) IMDB Profile
3) MovieMistakes Profile
4) Official Site (English)

Taking another step back into the past, though it’s not really that long for this one as some of the recent movies I went to pick up. I remember this movie creating a buzz back then and after watching I can understand why.

Apparently there are many themes and finer details in the movie, but I am not so brilliant to be aware of them, especially if it involved some historical event which I am not familiar with, or things that I have not read nor watched/heard. However, the main themes should be pretty obvious to all who have watched this movie and it is presented in a manner that I probably can’t do justice with my linguistic skills if I were to describe it here.

In my personal opinion there is also some literary touch to the dialogue scripted. I’m not sure whether it all came from the original writing or the movie added some of those on their own. Either way, it provides an additional dimension to some parts of the movie. Of course, there would be the ‘memorable introduction’ where V speaks sentences filled with words beginning with V and admittedly some of the words seem really foreign to me. Lol.

It can be a little graphic and violent on some occasions, which I suppose that’s where the restricted rating kicks in, though there are some other issues too. For the most part, I think it is done pretty fitting to the story’s development and mood which is a good thing.

I kind of liked how the ending of the movie does not show a concrete future, but a path towards a free-r future being opened. What exactly happens from there is left to imagination I guess. Overall, the pace is pretty good, the mood was mostly intense with some suspense. Some humour here and there though it isn’t much to ease things for a moment kept me ‘refreshed’ for things to come. A pretty entertaining movie that was produced well. My take: 7/10

Nasake no Onna

Japanese title: ナサケの女
Number of episodes: 8

Some info:
1) DramaWiki
2) Official Site (Japanese)

I vaguely recall mentioning about Japanese drama having a few tax related series around the same window which I didn’t observe previously. I took a break from this genre hence having this entry delayed for quite a while, but this drama is another that has a central of catching people who evade taxes.

Needless to say, the lady in the picture above is the main character of the story and has her hand at a number of pretty big cases. Not exactly the most co-operative of officers you would want to work with nor supervise, but in the end her intuition always ends up being right. I guess it’s something within predictable “range” once you get to see how the drama starts off.

One thing that bothers me is that most of those being investigated and having their compounds searched often hide their unlawful assets in similar fashion, for example in homes finding heaps of cash under the mattress of a bed seems to be very common. I wonder if all such people do that in real life. Surely there must be smarter and craftier ways to hide their assets. Oh well, it’s for drama effects I guess.

Apart from serious investigations there are a number of relatively more light-hearted scenes and perhaps a bit of comedy if your benchmark level is not so high. Mostly just to add some entertainment to an otherwise pretty serious and straight story. I wouldn’t say they are especially funny, but certainly needed to keep a balance to the mood of the series.

It is a relatively short series but it still has a main story lying around somewhere, only revealing a bit additional information until the right time arrives. I wasn’t quite expecting that since the series is pretty short. The way the drama ended also allows for sequels if they really wanted to, but I am guessing there won’t be any.