Dangerous times ahead for Japan?

Former New York Times correspondent Richard Halloran writes about the Obama administration’s pick for its ambassador to Japan:

“The United States and Japan are headed into a time of tribulation due to a paralysis in Japanese politics and President Obama’s decision to send an inexperienced and uninformed ambassador to Tokyo.”

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009907260348

If the forecasters are correct and the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) topples the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the parliamentary elections which will be held on Aug. 30, Japan could be on an accelerated path to self-destruction.

 

Rush Hour 3 – Part II

I’ve now watched this film as many times as I did Danny Boyle’s Sunshine  where Hiro plays the captain of a spaceship on a mission to save mankind — I think I’ve memorized the script by now!!  (I’ve also memorized the Sunshine’s script as well by now …)  The two films are completely different in subject matter, genre, tone, and pacing and it’s difficult to imagine that Kenji is being portrayed by the same actor as Sunshine’s Kenji.  This man’s range and versatility is simply amazing!  I mean, I’ve watched almost every perfomance of Hiro’s over the last 30 years (save the live stage performances) thanks to the generosity of my special friend and fellow Sanada fan in Japan, and the manner in which he can literally embodies and “becomes” the role is just an awesome sight to behold.  I cannot think of another actor working today that can match Hiro’s talent and ability to literally and figuratively take on any role in any genre — he is simply amazing!

One of the treats for any Sanada fan in viewing both films is the number of close-ups of our favorite guy!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to Mr. Boyle and Ratner!!  I’m especially grateful for them because I got to see Hiro’s eyes which are the most fascinating and intriguing aspect to his excellent acting.

ラッシュアワー、もう何度も観てしまい台本は殆ど暗記してしまいました!（汗）でも真田さんの演技力には何回見ても参ってしまいますね。毎回演じる役に生りきってしまうのでカネダ船長とケンジが同じ俳優だとは真田ファンでなければ絶対気がつかないでしょう。

演技の上手い、下手は人夫々色々な意味を持っていると思いますが私の中では良い役者とはあらゆるジャンルをこなせる人が「本当の役者」だと思っていますので真田さんは世界で一番輝いている俳優さんですね。

更にボイル監督同様、ラトナー監督も真田さんのアップを沢山撮っていただきましたので真田さん得意の「目の演技」が十分に楽しめました。（笑）

RUSH HOUR 3 is officially a blockbuster!

 

As a long-time Hiroyuki Sanada fan, I’ve been waiting for Hollywood to “re-discover” this wonderful Japanese actor since he made his impactful presence known to American audiences in The Last Samurai.  Although he’s been working non-stop since then, all of the films he’s starred in didn’t receive a whole lot of marketing oomph in the U.S. for some reason — Chen Kaige’s The Promise, James Ivory’s The White Countess, and Danny Boyle’s Sunshine – but Rush Hour 3 is totally different! 

I went to a 5:00 p.m. showing today and the theater was packed!  The audience laughed so hard at the jokes that I unfortunately missed most of them (Note to Self:  Plan to go back at least 3-4 times at different theaters for comparison purposes) .  All in all, the movie was pure, unpretentious fun which was what I expected, and it was wonderful to see the best Japanese action star showing his trademark lightening-quick reflexes and fluid martial arts moves against Jackie Chan!!  (Emerald’s Note:  Sanada-san deliberately walked away from his status as Japan’s top action star after starring in Kinji Fukasaku’s The Legend of the Eight Samurai because he didn’t want to be pigeonholed.  Nowadays, most of the audience have absolutely no idea that he is the best action star to come out of Japan — even his mentor, Sonny Chiba, admits that Hiro’s skills are superior to his own.)

It’s also great to see Hiro and Jackie up on the silver screen for the very first time even though they’ve been friends for more than 20 years (read more about their relationship here).

Early box office reports estimate the opening day’s take at $17.8 million, beating rival The Bourne Ultimatum’s $10.7 million, and nearly $50 million for the whole weekend!