SnoReptilePlenty Memorable, crazy movie

Tedfoldol everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

mooglemania 'Action'? 'Comedy'? For me it was a drama. It was depressing to watch this misogynistic filth. Out of three or so main female characters, one was shot, the other kidnapped and the last was put in her place. What I mean is, she started out as the leader of the investigation but ended up losing her position, her future unclear as the male protagonist got the girl and was credited with getting some of the work done, despite his input being less than 10%. Don't get me wrong, he put in the hours and the work, but he was just so terrible at it. He ran to the wrong place, tripped alarms, lost suspects and left a key witness to fend for herself and generally acted like he's fresh out of the police academy- no, like a struggling minor in some sort of fat camp. It made me mad to see this inept buffoon cruise by while some poor woman got the brunt end of the stick. And why? Because she's pretty. Allegedly. From the second she appeared everyone undermined her authority all because she was pretty, so she must've been a politically placed unqualified dolt. Meanwhile everyone thinks the main guy is a hero despite all the times he messes up.The movie is way too long, moves at a snail's pace and as far as comedy goes, one could get more laughs from Dane Cook (getting hit. Not his actual 'jokes'. If you can call them that.). And ignore anyone who says "If you have knowledge of x culture or y thing then you'll appreciate this" because that person is desperately speaking out of his or her ass trying to justify this turd of a movie and it's just now worth it, read a book, play a video game, it'll be time better spent.

TheHande 'Bayside Shakedown 2' is something of an opposite to its predecessor. Its opening is action-packed and fun, but the meat of the film doesn't hold up quite as well. Once again the film is a successful blend of serious cop drama and comedy with the less serious parts evening out the more serious ones.Over-all the film just isn't as intriguing as its predecessor. The plot-twist comes a tad too early at which point the viewers stop caring about the badguys who weren't all that interesting. Of the side-plots, the vampire one is my favorite but otherwise the setting of the film didn't impress me as much as the predecessor.The film is not bad by any measure, however, and is ultimately recommendable. It simply didn't give the same feeling of fulfillment as the first one did.

DICK STEEL I've watched Bayside Shakedown 1 a few years back, and enjoyed it thoroughly, so there isn't any reason not to catch the sequel when it's in town.For those who do not know, this show is set in a small Tokyo police precinct, where cops actually perform routine community policing without arms, and the sexy investigative stuff are always handled by the Metropolitan police. This devision of course gives rise to the exploration of politics within the police force, some of which are not subtly put across in the movie - which provokes thought.However, the movie doesn't come across as preachy or heavy, as it's always lightened by the (sometimes one dimensioned) characters, the light hearted moments, and camaraderie amongst them.As always, the movie starts off with its regular catchy theme song interspersed with footage of current going-ons. With murder being the main anchor of investigations, other sub-investigations include the biter, the family of pickpockets and a secret lover of the commander of the precinct. Naturally, all the loose ends will be tied neatly when they all come together at one point in the show.Amongst the politics discussed here is on women leadership, in the name of equal opportunity - could we be biased and blinded by policy to allow the inept to lead? Even though in my opinion, this is a Japanese movie, and the culture at times may be chauvanistic, it does provide some thought provoking moments during the show, or did the producers/writers cop out at the end of it all? For those who do not understand Japanese, no worries, there are good subtitles, and it doesn't matter if you have watched the first part, or the drama serial - the good looking cast (male and female) should be able to sustain you through this enjoyable flick.

pinokiyo The same cast is back with a much bigger budget with their success on the first blockbuster movie! You can tell right off the start they spent a lot of money on this. It has the same style as the first with yet another awesome title intro and music score. I thought it was well crafted and much bigger than most Hollywood movies. I believe this movie was out in theaters in Japan while Battle Royale 2 was. And I can see why this movie was #1 and Battle Royale 2 was lower down the rank. Battle Royale 2 was a major disappointment, and was stressing to watch with the constant screaming and random shooting, a total Saving Private Ryan rip-off, and ridiculous ending! Well, I guess that is a totally different review but I can see why this movie was #1, as it was MUCH MORE enjoyable to watch. The pace of the movie moves pretty fast. I wanted to see more! But it had to end. The story wasn't completely mind blowing but it definitely had its moments and kept me focus all the way to the end. I don't know why but I actually got a bit teary in this one scene!What was sort of a letdown was the criminals in this one did not stand out much. The idea of the criminal type was cool but I expected them to do more and be a little more strong and threatening. But this is more of a comedy so I guess they can't really go deep into that direction? Well, comedy and drama is a hard mix but they do a pretty good job.If you plan on watching this movie with English subtitles, just be warned, they aren't done that great. Especially the subtitles in one scene, I guess isn't much of a big deal there, but the subtitles says apples when it's really suppose to be pear! That mistake stood out the most but there were others.Bayside Shakedown 2 has an awesome soundtrack, fun and likable cast, great cinematography, and it's just a fun movie to watch that is not to be taken so seriously. It is mainly a comedy after all, not the "Dumb and Dumber" kind though. The making of the film was quite interesting to watch too!Definitely worth a watch, especially if you've seen the first one.Overall Rating: 7/10