Love forces two carefree youngsters to grow up in a hurry in this bittersweet coming-of-age romance from first-time feature director Natsuki Imai. Mika (Yui Aragaki) is a pretty but shy teenage girl who loses her cell phone and finds it a few days later, only to begin receiving calls from a secret admirer. Mika and the mystery boy finally meet a few weeks later, and when she sets eyes on handsome and mysterious Hiro (Haruma Miura), she's immediately smitten. The two quickly become a couple, but after Mika gives Hiro her virginity, his former flame Saeki (Asami Usada) decides to ruin her reputation at school, spreading lies about her past with other boys, and persuades three delinquents to sexually assault Mika. Hiro stands by Mika and displays a new willingness to show how he cares for her, but the young lovers face a new challenge when Mika discovers she's pregnant. Hiro is happy to marry Mika and raise a family, but their parents believe the teens are too young to deal with the responsibilities they now face, and their love is tested as they confront an uncertain future. Koizora (aka Sky of Love) was adapted from a popular novel for young people by Mika, which was originally distributed by a cell-phone network in Japan, reaching more than 11 million readers, and later went on to sell 1.5 million copies in paperback.
Step Up 2 the Streets
Step Up 2 the Streets is the sequel to 2006's Step Up. It's the story of 16-year-old street dancer Andie West (Briana Evigan). After her mother died, she was taken in by her mother's best friend, Sarah (Sonja Sohn). Since West often skips school and spends too much time as member of the notorious dance crew 410, Sarah wants her to go live with her aunt in Texas.
However, her friend and older brother figure, Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) convinces Sarah to give her another chance: she can audition for the Maryland School of the Arts. Though the director of the school is hesitant to accept Andie, she is still accepted. Due to her school commitments she misses many 410 rehearsals, and they throw her out. She assembles a new crew of classmates that includes Chase Collins (Robert Hoffman), the school's best dancer; they practice clandestinely in the school after school hours, to compete against the 410 in Baltimore's underground dance battle, The Streets.
After a humiliating prank from MSA, the 410 crew attacks Chase and vandalizes the school, after which Blake Collins (Will Kemp), the director of the school and Chase's big brother, throws out West and forbids the school's students to participate in any competitions like The Streets. They go to the building where the event takes place anyway, but the 410 do not let them compete, and the crowd agrees. Since MSA believes the streets is more than just for dancing, they go in the streets, where the dancing really started, and perform in the pouring rain. Blake, who is observing, is impressed enough to allow West to return to the school, and integrate the dance style into the school program.
