Archives For Rants

Let Me In: The LtROi American Remake

April 14, 2010 — 8 Comments

The first time I saw Let the Right One in [LtROi], I was left with a shivering tingle. Obviously, it became my fave film of 2008, and I have seen it seven times already… loving the slightly unconventional love story, and presenting a wonderful character such as Eli.

This is why I don’t have to tell you how mad I was when I heard about the remake, right?

Well, not long ago… in fact, just after I commented on The Auteurs about watching it again, someone asked me what I felt about the remake. After a few minutes thinking about it, I concluded that I wasn’t as mad as I was when the news broke. I still don’t think Let Me In could be as good as LtROi and/or bring anything new to the genre.

Possibly, the best thing that could make me sway my decision is the casting of not only Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass, (500) Days of Summer), but also Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road). A moody and beautiful trailer would also help.

However, there’s still the fact that they probably won’t tackle certain topics by changing Eli’s name to Abbey, which makes her a full girl unless I don’t know any guy names that could be shortened to Abbey… you know like sometimes Ashley is a guy or girl name? Add to that the fact that Richard Jenkins’ character is called “The Father” – weird.

I’ll quote someone on IMDb who seems to explain it better…

By having Abbey being a girl, they’ve already killed one of the things I love about the original book, its not a conventional love story, it’s more about the idea of what love is and what it means. There is something so strangely touching about how Oskar is willing to still accept Eli in his life even after everything he finds out about Eli, I just found that really touching in the original novel. – damann861

I will probably watch the film… if it comes to local theaters, and if it doesn’t… well, I will probably take the time to download it. I mean, it all comes down to the trailer and the production stills. I want to see how it looks like before…

What are your thoughts on American remakes of foreign films?

Should they have waited a few more years to remake LtROi?

In Books, English, Films, Rants, Stills, Swedish
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Not-so-Glee? on Rolling Stone

April 8, 2010 — Leave a comment

Read the latest interview from Rolling Stone magazine?

Those are the scans… 5 pages, but if you’re too lazy to read~~~ This is what Lainey had to say~~~

Anyway, a lot of people thought the journalist was offside. Inappropriate questions, tried to make the actors uncomfortable, ended up getting meangirled at the end of the day as a result.

Whatever.

I loved it.

Because his behaviour shaped the story. And his behaviour made it so much less safe and boring. His behaviour brought out a much more authentic side of the stars, ALL OF THEM. Lea Michele is a narcissistic humourless bitch, Cory Monteith is a con artist and a skilled dodger (which totally makes up for his bad pants) with a shady past, and Dianna Agron is a tight ass prude. It’s AMAZING. And so is Jane Lynch. Who has no patience for silly high school games and will cut a motherf-cker for wasting her time. As for the heartbreaking Chris Colfer, well, he may have the attitude, but he has to follow a locker room code too.

As for me? I was a little amused by Monteith’s story… kinda worrying all his past. Agron seemed normal… a little pompous (the story about the guy who can’t say “I love you”?), Lea… seemed annoying and pretentious. If you’re calling someone a whore, make it funny.

And well, Chris Colfer was endearing, but he did need to stop talking about the grudge. The interviewer WAS annoying though, but I guess most interviewers should have their annoying shades to actually ask people about their private lives.

I mean… reall~~~ “Entertain us????” *rolls eyes*

Sue Sylvester meangirls the best. =D

In Celebrity, English, Rants, Reading, Television , , ,
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Disney Animation Post-Lion-King

Cinematical has an interesting post asking “What’s your Favorite Disney Animated Feature since Lion King?” To which I have always said that I’ve enjoyed many of them. Mulan, Tarzan, Lilo & Stitch and The Emperor’s New Groove being possibly at the top of my list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U0xGBNl2fE

However, I have also enjoyed Treasure Planet — with it’s luscious sky-boarding animation. And I also remember I enjoyed Atlantis: The Lost Empire… though I don’t really recall a specific reason why. Maybe it was the bad guys and that most of the other characters were flawed.

I even went to the theater to catch Home on the Range, which I was disappointed it being the last ever 2D animated flick Disney was ever going to make… which it wasn’t. And I also enjoyed Brother Bear fine. I think Disney’s dismissal on the animation genre is that it ultimately began release straight-to-video 2d animated films making it seem like 2d Animation was no longer worthy of a theatrical release. Shame on you!

Add to that the fact that Disney characters weren’t ever really flawed, Aladdin was a thief (street rat) with a heart of gold~~~ Simba was a bit of a hothead, Quasi was… well, a hunchback… but that’s hardly a flaw. Tarzan didn’t speak English… but as storytelling advances and begins having characters that are good but not perfect, we want to see imperfect characters in a positive light. Characters like Mulan who was a little rebellious, and didn’t fit the mold she was supposed to fit, Kuzko who was selfish like no other… or Lilo who didn’t have many friends.

Also, check out Cinematical’s list of Disney Vets who should return to Disney.

Posted on April 3, 2010 In Clips, English, Films, Misc., Rants, Sharing , , ,
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Chinese Movie Industry’s Ambitions Tempered by Realism

March 23, 2010 — 1 Comment

I don’t get the title.

But this is coming from Aiya They Didn’t.

GT: Do you see many Chinese films in US cinemas?

Rosen: There are not many Chinese films in the US, and the few Chinese films that are available in the US were directed by famous directors, such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, and so on. There are several types of Chinese films that have played here.

Martial arts films are one type, such as Hero (Yingxiong) by Zhang Yimou and The Promise (Wuji) by Chen Kaige. The other type would be art films, such as those by Jia Zhangke, but these only get a limited release.

However, most Chinese films will never be shown in theaters here, because I think there simply isn’t enough of an audience for them. This is also true for most foreign language films. They are more likely to appear on DVD than to be shown in theaters.

Up to now, the most successful Chinese film has been Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wohu Canglong), the second most successful was Hero, and then Fearless (Huo Yuanjia).

The most successful Chinese films at the box office in the West have all been martial arts films, where language is less important than the action on the screen.

These are some of my comments,

Instead of Rosen suggesting China focus on big historical blockbuster to compete with Hollywood films, he should have only suggested “you should dub your films in English” – I mean, even great films produced and directed by American fave Clint Eastwood suffered from the “why no dub version” threads online.

Just look at the percentage of Chinese films on the Top Grossing Foreign films. I think they’re doing pretty great as far a top grossing in the US compared to other foreign films.

What I would like to see is more Chinese films (and over all Asian films) being distributed more in cinemas… in my country. LOL The last Chinese film released here was Yimou’s Curse of the Golden Flower. AGES ago. So if China wants to have more distribution of their films, they could use their own embassies and consulates around the world to actually screen films locally, instead of the Beijing Screening for international distributors.

I bet most distributors watch them, like them but see no market for them unless they have action sequences. So in the end those distribution screenings are for nothing. China should take distribution of their films in their own hands, I’m sure a lot of people would go to the movies instead of watching online (at least many of you) if the films you want to watch are available locally.

Like I’ve said, I’m not trying to be biased, since I do watch films made in America. But if you take a look at what a Blockbuster is in America, which they are discussing in the interview, films like Transformers 2 and Twilight made big bucks. China’s productions just wonder how they can get that many people to watch their films… and not only martial art films, but other types of films too.

The fact is many foreign films don’t get wide releases because they aren’t mass-appealing (worldwide), most markets just are filled with a lot of crappy American films, and I’m not talking about District 9 or Up… but with things like Transformers 2 and All About Steve or any Jennifer Aniston rom-com. While crappy foreign films (because everyone has their crappy films) can’t even make it outside their country.

The other question is… why does Hollywood remake My Sassy Girl, when My Sassy Girl is a fine film. Why can’t they just release it with subtitles. What does China need to get a film like Internal Affairs in theaters in America, instead of getting The Departed winning Best Film at the Oscar?

Why is there a Best Foreign Film category?

In Chinese, English, Films, French, Japanese, Korean, Rants, Spanish, Swedish , , ,
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Dear Viz Media: I Love You, but…

March 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

You guys really REALLY need to work on what you call “Special Features”. It’s been a long time coming, but the review I sent to Amazon.com of Linda Linda Linda never showed up, even though I was reviewing the material in the DVD and even making suggestions… so it was a valid write-up.

Last time I bought something in Amazon.com, my order included a copy for the Viz Media release for Tetsuya Nakashima’s Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) and Linda Linda Linda by Nobuhiro Yamashita.

Where to start?

Continue Reading…

In DVD/BR, English, Films, Japanese, Rants, Reviews, Sharing , , , ,
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The Age of Amateur Cinema Will Return

March 13, 2010 — Leave a comment

DGenerateFilms has translated an essay by director Jia Zhangke with some interesting ideas, as well as some others that I don’t particularly agree with… but maybe it’s one of those things lost in translation.

In a few years, young people throughout Asia will probably sing the same song, be attracted to the same clothes; girls will wear the same makeup and carry the same handbag. What kind of world is this turning into? It is precisely in this cultural environment that only independent films that remain committed to the depiction of local culture can provide some cultural diversity.

That’s an interesting statement, considering I have been talking about the exact opposite. I often talk how there will never be a “definite” 2000’s or 10-19’s list like we had in the 90s, because the internet has opened this gate with floods of information regarding anything… including music, films and overall entertainment. You don’t need to listen to what the record companies send to the radios, or watch what networks believe to be quality television or pay for a movie a distributor thinks you should be watching.

What the essay seems to be referring to is the vapid teenage kids who won’t bother researching and finding out about something that won’t be fed through distributors. I mean, you can’t even rely on what MySpace suggests any longer. LOL

Also… Amateur Cinema? With all the technology and all the quality cinematographers out there, even the most low-budget film can look okay. I’m sorry, but an image alone can speak a thousand words. That’s all I’m saying. I may be a “production value” girl, and I can appreciate costume, and art direction, but I also always give more importance to storyline and overall mood of the film. It shouldn’t matter if it’s “amateur” or a big-budget production.

Don’t give me Amateur Cinema, give me quality Independent Cinema.

In Chinese, English, Films, Japanese, Korean, Rants ,
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an afternoon in the ER

February 18, 2010 — 2 Comments

Wow. It’s the first time I visit the ER.

I woke up with a fever last night, and after my mother came back from work, she decided to walk me to the hospital. In reality, the hospital is about one or two blocks away, but walking there while feeling like shit, it’s hardly ideal. After all the paper work, we went up 5 floor by stairs because it was more efficient than queuing for the elevator.

The doctor took a look at me, and checked my temperature. My mom thought it was gonna be 38-something, but in reality it was closer to 40C. The doctor prescribed some pills, and some for the shot I was supposed to get. On our way down I told my mom “I can’t believe you made me go up 5 floors with almost 40C of fever” LOL

I had never been to the ER, but I went to it to get my shot against the fever. It hurt like a bitch. It still hurts! The worst part was that I had to go back walking after it!

Anyway, fever seems to be gone. But still need to take all those pills… *sighs*

In Rants
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out for the not-a-holiday

February 17, 2010 — 3 Comments

no post today or maybe tomorrow.
got a fever of almost 40C.

the injection hurt like a bitch.

In Rants
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What’s Up Vevo?

February 8, 2010 — Leave a comment

First, WTF is Vevo, right?

Unless you’ve been looking for a music video by an artist sign by one of the few record companies that have signed deals with Vevo, chances are you haven’t even seen the Vevo logo.

Vevo started out with a celebrity packed opening, yet bumpy. Some of the musicians that day were Lady Gaga, Rhianna, Mariah, Taylor Swift, and even Justin Timberlake… but nobody cares if your platform is buggy. Users complained of slow “buffering” times, wondering why it was buffering instead of streaming. International users were shown a big splash saying they couldn’t use Vevo because it was only for US residents, however, some US users were also given the big splash for no apparent reason.

In short, very few people like Vevo for one reason or the other.

Some can’t use it, some others hate the waiting, others hate the buggy player, others hate the loading time, others (those who get to use it) hate the music collection… you know, since there are no indie labels.

Then, YouTube began using specific Vevo links, which seems to work for non-US users. However, loading times are still an issue. Add to that that it seems to be very random when it decides to not let non-US users watch videos. For example, I can watch some videos on my WinXP computer, but I can’t wtch them on the Vista I’ve got at home. Both are same location, and same internet connection. What gives?

Vevo: What’s the Deal
5 Tips to Make Vevo Better

Add to that International viewing.

In English, Music, Rants , , , ,
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I’m a Good Downloader

Fight illegal downloads, and be cool!

via Wildgrounds.

Yes, yet another downloads, distribution and torrents post. Why? Because it is important to discuss this issue as many many cases of people who download are brought to court.

It is important to point out the different types of uploaders/downloaders. First, the uploaders — there are those who upload to share and spread their interest so they find someone they can share a common interest with. Someone to talk to about this piece. However, they are often confused with the people who upload to get hits and possibly ad revenue… meaning, making a profit.

This is why so many fansubbing groups are against streaming, many streamers (unless they are authorized) upload videos that don’t belong to them (they don’t even sub stuff themselves!), since streaming is easier than download they get more hits and become more popular from other people’s work.

Continue Reading…

Posted on February 5, 2010 In Celebrity, Chinese, Commercials, DVD/BR, English, Films, French, Japanese, Korean, Music, Rants, Sharing, Spanish, Swedish, Television, Torrents & Digital Streams , , , , ,
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