DEATH NOTE: L CHANGE THE WORLD (2008)

Yawn. This entire movie is about L. Now I like L, but without his nemesis, Light, he's kinda boring. As you remember from the end of Part 2 L wrote his own name in the Death Note saying that he would die peacefully in 23 days. This is the story of what happens during that time.

It's entertaining, but without Light or Misa (my god she was hot!) or Ryuk the whole thing is disappointing. It's like if there was an episode of "Buffy" starring only Giles. Honestly, if you're a big DEATH NOTE fan I would just skip this film, it's just going to disappoint you. As a stand alone film it's OK, but still boring. Skip it.

I guess I could tell you the plot: L has to stop some terrorist from releasing a deadly virus that will kill everybody on the planet. Of course, if he didn't burn the Death Note at the beginning of the movie he could just kill them. Then again that would be against L's morals.

Part 1
Part 2

DEATH NOTE: THE LAST NAME (2006)

What's up with that Red Hot Chili Peppers song?!  It seemed completely out of place during the closing credits of the first film, but now, not only is it in the closing titles of this second film, but it's played during the opening of the film as well!  It doesn't make any sense.  This is a Japanese language film about death and murder and they start the film with some upbeat California rock song?  It's completely out of place, but it does bring to mind a great movie game: Most Inappropriate Closing Credit Songs (that would completely ruin the mood).  A few examples:

The B-52's - "Love Shack", THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT

The Monkees - (Theme from) The Monkees, PLANET OF THE APES

DMX - "Party Up (Up In Here)", ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST

Bruce Springsteen - "Glory Days", BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)

Ghostemane - "Venom", AN AMERICAN TAIL: FIEVEL GOES WEST

The Proclaimers - "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" - THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE III (FINAL SEQUENCE)

$uicideBoy$ - "My Flaws Burn Through My Skin Like Demonic Flames from Hell, AMERICAN PIE

Papa Roach - "Last Resort", THE HOURS

Three 6 Mafia - "Who the Crunkest", LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
They Might Be Giants - "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", MIDSOMMAR

100 gecs - “money machine”, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN

100 gecs - “stupid horse”, THE GODFATHER

100 gecs - sympathy 4 the grinch, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET

The J. Geils Band - “Centerfold”, HEREDITARY

Elvis Presley - “Jailhouse Rock”, THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION
Alphaville - "Forever Young", SALO, OR THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM (1975)

GFOTY - “Tongue”, FATAL ATTRACTION

The B-52's - "Rock Lobster", JAWS

Celine Dion - "My Heart Will Go On", A SERBIAN FILM
"Weird Al" Yankovic - "Eat It", LA GRANDE BOUFFE (1973)
Fleetwood Mac - "Second Hand News", THE PERFECT STORM

...the list is endless really.

Anyway, this second Death Note film starts out strong as fuck.  As you remember, the first film ended on a cliffhanger that left the viewer going "Ohhh, shit!!!", but then the second film takes the excitement even further with the introduction of a second Kira!  "Ohhh, double-shit!!!"  It's awesome.  I was on the edge of my seat for the first half of the film, but then things get overly complicated and the ending drags on forever.  It was disappointing.

I still really like this film and watch it occasionally, but usually stop about 3/4 of the way through.

Part 1 - Death Note (2006)
Part 3 - Death Note: L Change the World (2008)

DEATH NOTE (2006)

Light Yagami is a college student who naively believes that if he pursues a career in Law that he will be able to make a difference. One night he witnesses something that shatters his beliefs.  A few moments later he finds the Death Note. It's a notebook that belongs to a God of Death (think Grim Reaper) named Ryuk and there's a bunch of rules to it, but simply put: you write a person's name in the book and they die.  Also, Ryuk hangs out with Light now, but nobody else can see him.

That's a huge oversimplification of the story (I completely left out the exciting cat and mouse stuff with the brilliant crime fighter, L), but I don't want to give too much away, because one the most satisfying parts of watching DEATH NOTE for the first time is discovering all the new rules and crazy twists and turns as it happens. Yeah, some of it's silly, but DEATH NOTE is still a wicked story.  Silly and wicked.  That's my kind of movie!  I love it.  Highly recommended.

Part 2 - Death Note: The Last Name (2006)
Part 3 - Death Note: L Change the World (2008)