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garyjwms-2
Reviews
SEAL Team: Paradise Lost (2019)
It's Television...
In response to some of the reviews posted here and in other episodes, that essentially pan the show for its lack of realism or authenticity, there really are limits to what a show like this can do. For instance, of course this episode arc wasn't shot in the Philippines, the very high costs for shooting on location would prohibit it. I think you'll find that the show is mostly shot in locations around Southern California, which provides a variety of sites and terrain that can be dressed up to look like any location they need. The "Gucci" hotel they're staying in for the mission is not in the Philippines, but appears to be the Hyatt Regency in Newport Beach. SoCal has a pretty large Filipino-American population, so it's likely that the extras on screen are locals from SoCal, who are 2nd, 3rd & 4th gen which might explain why the accents and dialect is off.
As for the lack of respect for military protocol, I didn't serve so I don't have as much insight, but this is the case in every military show and movie I've ever seen (Top Gun Maverick a recent example). It seems in order to have an edgy, heroic character like Jason (Bravo 1), that character has to have a disregard for command, and routinely violate orders to save the mission.
I guess I'm saying just enjoy the show and its make-believe reality ... find humor in how ridiculous the distortions and goofs are, and look forward to Season 6!
Captive Hearts (1987)
Actress blackballed for love scene?
Saw this movie years ago, and recently found it on Netflix Instant play. I just have a soft spot for this movie with all its limitations... I must say that Pat Morita is basically playing Mr. Miyagi's long lost brother in this film ...
But the point I want to raise is this ... Mari Sato, who plays Miyoko in this film, did not appear in any motion picture after this role, which was really unfortunate. However, I suspect, and I have heard this to be the case, that because her character has a sexual relationship with a Western (non-Japanese) character, some segment of the Japanese movie-going population finds that to be out-of-bounds, and the result appears to be that Ms. Sato has been blacklisted from getting any further movie roles.
Something similar happened to a different Japanese actress -- Aya Takanashi (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0847328/) appeared in Mr. Baseball (1992) as Tom Selleck's love interest. That film was an international box office success, and despite her excellent performance, she, like Mari Sato, has never appeared in a film role again. What they share in common is that their characters were portrayed in an on-screen romantic/sexual relationship with a gaijin male.
In both films, the sex is never depicted, but rather innocently implied. There are kissing scenes, and that's about it. However, I guess the idea that these two actresses play Japanese women who have sex with foreigners was repugnant enough that it warranted their ouster from the movie industry. How sad, unfair, and let's be honest, how sexist and racist as well! Granted, both movies are now 20-25 years old, and I wonder if the mores of the Japanese movie-going public, and the movie industry have changed. But I put this out there -- have there been other examples of Japanese actresses meeting the same fate? Can anyone confirm or challenge this theory?