Welcome to the Punch

Welcome to the Punch

I have 3 words for you.

Keeping    It    British (let's keep political correctness away for now).

James McAvoy, your very own Charles Xavier -the star of X-men: First Class- is hitting home with his truly brilliant acting skills. Playing Max, the officer struggling to let go of his enemy, who finds himself in the rumble between politics and police, McAvoy charms his audience with his sky blue eyes and convincing character. His sworn enemy, played by Mark Strong (could there have been a better villain?), is the eponym of hot, melting the audience with his ferociousness and deadly stares.

While the story unravels, we find that Max(James McAvoy) is truly troubled by the incident which left him crippled and that not a day goes by that he doesn't think of Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong) and the desire to destroy the cause of all his problems. Sternwood has been in hiding in his Icelandic home far away from trouble such as Max. However, certain events force him out of his comfort zone and an unlikely pairing takes place. What was a story of vengeance becomes a story of truth and all things dangerous; a puzzle they need to solve just to survive.

The movie manages to keep you thinking besides the action and you're never really certain who is bad and who is good: maybe that's the best thing about it all. Worth watching for when you're bored and not looking for someone to rock your socks off - you'll still enjoy it all and be surprised by how good it is.

Shinzanmono

Shinzanmono 新参者

Shinzanmono is a crime/mystery Japanese drama with the title, Shinzanmono新参者, meaning 'new comer', which describes the character of police officer Kyoichiro Kaga (played by Abe Hiroshi). The show delves into the plot immediately, with the death of a resident happening within the first ten minutes. This really kicks off the show and let's the audience see Abe Hiroshi's 'Sherlock-like' detective skill. From the first episode till the last, various residents of the area (Nihonbashi 'Doll Town'), are suspected of being the murderers, with different clues left around for the audience to pick up through the use of dramatic irony. 

As one can imagine, it is quite frustrating to believe that a character is the murderer only to be proven wrong at the end of the episode; and this happens every episode save the last. However, this drama is more than just a detective case: it's drama. Each person in the show lies, and these lies are key. There is an intense build up to finding the murderer, with touching side stories and as always, stories surrounding family problems or personal issues within each character.

It does get quite repetitive; you feel as if there is no point in watching the next episode if the person it revolves around is not the murderer. However, i was always suspicious of the person who, by the end, is revealed as the murder. Moreover, during the last two episodes, the tempo of the drama increases and the viewers have a lot of information (or should i say clues) to take in which lead up to the revealing of the true criminal.

I may be biased since Abe Hiroshi plays the lead role for this drama, but along side him were great actors such as Mizobata Junpei who played the cousin of Kyoichiro and also a detective, and Izumiya Shigeru, who did a wonderful role of playing the "lone wolf". All together, they really worked with the story and various situations

(p.s. The music was great. So far, it is the drama with the best soundtrack, in my opinion. Check out the ost here. < This is also my favourite track number).