Asian Drama

Saeba Ryo is a "sweeper" in the city of Tokyo. He works as a trouble shooter, cleaning the streets of vermin, and helping out desperate people. Sometimes he's a bodyguard, sometimes he's an assassin, whatever Ryo does he does it well. In fact, his only flaw is his hormones - he loves the ladies and sometimes turns into an idiot when he's near them. Thankfully he's got people like his partner Kaori Makimura to keep him in check.

(Source: Mangaupdates)

Adapted from the manga series "City Hunter" (シティーハンター) by Hojo Tsukasa (北条司).

Duration: 1 hr. 42 min.

Ratings: 8.1

It's New Year's Eve for the Hotel Avanti, and the whole place is in panic mode. There's an award ceremony and countdown party to prepare for, guests to greet, entertainment to organise, a persistent call girl to deter, an escapee duck to find, and more.

It is near impossible to sum up this film in a few neat concise paragraphs. The level of writing that has gone into this film is fantastic. Throughout, it really feels like a stage play. The viewer feels intimate with the story and characters, and there is a real warmth and closeness there that is rare to find. Perhaps it the writer's experience with the stage that allows that quality to come through, and as such it is a real strength for the film.

This intimacy really helps the viewer to involve themselves in the story, which is incredibly fast-paced and deliciously mischievous in design. The film is really funny, and represents a very full spectrum of humour, from "hmmm" funny to "hah hah", and wry to downright silly, but still manages to be quite understated. This isn't the kind of film that you will make Pepsi come out your nose, but it is really funny all the same, and and there are some hilarious cock-ups that will have you giggling gleefully.

The jokes of course wouldn't work without the film's biggest strength: the characters. They are all so enjoyable to watch, as their adventures and mishaps tangle and spiral together, gathering momentum in one huge snowball effect. Some scenes are the culmination of so many threads that it is wonderfully painful to watch it all come together. It is hard not to talk at the TV. To the writer's credit though, the film is often refreshingly unpredictable, and I was impressed to find that this comedy of errors didn't just rely on the same old gags as similarly styled comedies.

The film also carries a dramatic message, and while all of the characters are caricatures of sorts, they are much deeper than that, and live and breath to the extent that the viewer finds themselves genuinely caring about what happens to them. There are so many great characters and scenes in this film that it would be a very cynical viewer that couldn't take away something memorable from it.

The Uchoten Hotel is a delightful film, expertly written, directed and performed. Even as the film effortlessly straddles zaniness and sophistication, and its many threads entwine together, the viewer can, just as the Hotel Avanti promises, think of the place as their second home.

In this behind-the-scenes documentary, TOMORROW X TOGETHER are back post-pandemic and are ready to embark on their first world tour from Seoul to North America. The band's nerves and excitement are kicking in, but they have challenged themselves to give the performance of a lifetime.

(Source: Disney+)

In the royal palace of King Jung-Jo, court nurse Chun-Ryung (Park Jin-Hee) is called into the quarters of the royal concubine Hee-Bin (Yoon Se-Ah). One of the royal concubine's maids Wol-Ryung (Seo Yeong-Hee) is found hanging to death in her maid chamber. Court nurse Chun-Ryung investigates the area and realizes fairly quickly that Wol-Ryung did not commit suicide.

Nevertheless, the supervising maid orders court nurse Chun-Ryung to classify the woman's death as a suicide. Otherwise, a forthcoming scandal would jeopardize royal concubine Hee-Bin's source of power and, consequently, the maids source of power.

Meanwhile, court nurse Chun-Ryung conducts an autopsy on Wol-Ryung. She discovers a startling secret. Wol-Ryung recently gave birth to a child, even though maids are sworn to keep their chastity for the King. Court nurse Chun-Ryung is now almost certain that someone murdered Wol-Ryung and begins her own secret investigation.