So for those who have never heard of it and don't know what it is, the premise of Reaction & Review is that I watch movies I have never seen before, or in a rare chance, a movie I haven't seen in around 20 years and have no memory of it, give them a first time watch and them immediately review them as soon as the credits start rolling. And I'm going to start this series off with a dark comedy from 2003. That movie is "2LDK".
Now I do know a little about this movie, outside of the basic plot of what I read on the back of the DVD case. The plot is about two actresses who are competing for the same movie role. They both share the same apartment, and somehow, someway, they both essentially end up trying to kill each other. I don't know how that leads to that conclusion at this time, but I am going to find out soon enough.
Now the other thing I know about "2LDK" is how this film was made. You see, this movie was filmed in about 8 days with only a cast of two people, and filmed in only one setting. And it was set as a challenge by the producer of this movie named Shinya Kawai, to the director of "2LDK" and the director of another movie called "Aragami". And both of them had about a week to make a film which consisted of two actors, a setting, and only one week to film both movies.
I don't know if that challenge is going to bode well for this movie or not, but I am certainly hoping for this movie to be halfway decent. And the only way I am going to know that for sure or not, is if I shut up, and I push play, and I'm going to do that right now. So, without further ado, it's time to kick back, relax, and check out "2LDK".
4 minutes later
Is anyone going to answer that door? It's been knocking for the last 20 seconds and it's kinda irritating to listen to.
19 minutes later
Sorry, guys, if I haven't said very much, it's just that this movie has not given me a whole lot to react to. I will say though that this story, so far, has been pretty good, and I hope that this movie is able to continue that pace.
1 minute later
OK, that's kind of a messed up image...and now we get to see Lana's face in front of the camera as she is about to throw up in the toilet. Again...it's kinda fucked up, but still, it was rather interesting.
10 minutes later
All right, guys, just when I thought Lana was starting to break down into madness, she just took in a mouthful of pills while listening to really shitty rock music and dancing like a retard. Yeah, I think Lana's passed the point of almost no return, guys.
4 minutes later
Well, guys, I just finally got the context of the bathtub image Lana was envisioning. I gotta say...that was certainly messed up.
9 minutes later
OK, that was certainly a creative way to break half of a katana. I kinda dug that.
16 minutes later
Okay...so after all that fighting, now they end up kissing. Well, that was...certainly a bit out of left field.
The Review
Well, guys, that was "2LDK", I'm gonna shut that off...OK. Where to start? I guess maybe I should start with the writing here.
Writing in this movie is incredibly sharp. But at the same time, it's also it's biggest fault. Or I should say that this would be a big fault, but in this case, I don't think it kinda matters here. And I think part of that has to do with the movie's runtime. You see, this movie clocks in about an hour and ten minutes. And the reason why I say that this would be kind of a big fault is because this movie spends a good chunk of it building up our story and our two main characters. I'd say at around 40 minutes is where most of that development goes into until we get to the fight between them later on. Now I totally understand that there are those who don't like really slow buildups. So if you're one of those who doesn't like these kinds movies with a slow build, then you're probably not going to like this movie. But I'll go more in depth about it when I get to recommendations.
Going to back to writing. Our plot here is as basic as it sounds. We follow our two lead actresses, Nozomi and Lana, who share a hotel room together because they are competing for the same movie role. And as the movie goes on, they start digging at each other in terms of what they wear, what they eat, their past relationships, and mind you, they do this while monologuing, so it's not like they say this to each other openly. And I really wish I could tell you more about the plot, however, I would have to be digging into spoilers, and I really don't want to do that here. But I will say that both of our characters are fleshed out, and the story, as basic as it is, is really good in terms of what was shown here.
One other thing I want to comment on in terms of writing is that this movie advertises itself as a dark comedy. And in certain aspects, it does have that. However, I really feel that this movie leans more towards drama rather than comedy. There was maybe like one or two instances where I smiled. And it was where one of the two actresses thinks they should team up and do stand-up comedy. And she gets a reply from the other actress saying that she would rather die as a film actress while the other adds up by saying that she would suck at it anyway. And that was it. Almost everything else is mainly a drama. And, to be honest, this movie is more of a dramedy, which is a combination of a comedy and a drama. Now mind you, that isn't really bad thing, it's just something I felt was worth noting. And I understand almost nobody is going to care about something that incredibly minor.
So yeah, guys, writing is really good, provided you are use to movies with really slow buildups. Now beyond the basic story, what about the acting? Well, being that there is no English dub, I have to go off by body language. And the acting here is great from our two main actresses. None of them felt like they were phoning it in or gave out any delivery that I would say that flat out sucked. So yeah, the acting here is spectacular.
There aren't really a whole lot of special effects in this movie, except for one of them that I need to comment on that involves CG blood, and that is right at the very end of the movie. Without spoiling what happens, the CG blood that was used in that shot looked awful. Especially with the way it stopped itself afterwards. Again, if I go into any details, that would end up me spoiling the end of the movie, but I will say that the CG blood looked terrible. However, the practical blood the comes after looks really good.
Camerawork is pretty good, however, there is a bit of shaky cam when our two actresses end up fighting each other up close when the camera tries to zoom in on the action. But honestly, it doesn't happen too often and the camerawork beside that looked fine. Lighting is here is lit well. Music, well, I touched upon that shitty rock music earlier and, outside of that, there really isn't a lot of music here being played. So I guess if I'm grasping for straws in terms of negatives, I would say that the score ranges from forgettable to just flat out sucking.
So ultimately, guys, when all it's said and done, am I able to recommend "2LDK"? Kind of, yes. As I mentioned earlier, this movie spends about the first 40 minutes of it's hour and ten minute runtime building up it's story and characters, so if you're not a fan of slow buildups or just don't like dramas, then there's no way I can recommend this movie to you. But for everyone else, if you're able to look past the 40 minute build up, and you like dark comedies with a decent amount of violence, then yes, I can totally recommend it. However, I do recommend that you find this movie cheap. Because I found this DVD at one of my local shops for about $12. And...I feel a little bit ripped off. Now mind you, this doesn't knock the movie itself, it's just I feel that this movie isn't worth getting for $12. I would say anything under the $10 range. Like say $7 or $8. But anything beyond that, no. I also believe that this movie is on YouTube, so if you don't feel like spending money on this thing, then you can go ahead and watch it there, if it's still up on YouTube.
And with that, we come to the close on the first installment of my first Reaction & Review. And, I'm not totally sure if I'll continue with this or just leave it as a one time thing, but who knows? Until that time comes, take care, and I will see you all in the near future. Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment