WOAHHHH, Stella Artois and The Auteurs are letting us watch 6 films for free. What’s better? They are 6 GREAT FILMS. Doesn’t get much better than that.

- Polanski’s Repulsion this has been changed for
- Walkabout
- Russian Ark
- Lars Von Trier’s Europa
- Hirokazu Koreeda’s Daremo Shiranai (Nobody Knows)
- Tropical Malady
- Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Three Times this has been changed for
- Faust

Just head over there, login and watch.

And remember… if you snooze, you lose.
I’d better watch Tropical Malady before it’s gone like Three Times. xD

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?

Well, let’s begin with Linda Linda. I understand listing “Director & Cast” information as special feature, and I can even consider your “Culture Tips” feature which was more like a Glossary of terms explaining Japanese festivals and other words. I even get it’s kind of okay to list “Original Trailers” as a feature.

But why is “Viz Pictures Presents” a feature? That’s just random propaganda for YOUR benefit.

And… as much good intention the “The Blue Hearts Audio FAQ” feature had, why should I even care about the commentary by Patrick Macias. I even feel less otaku for even complaining about it.

What could have been awesome on the Linda Linda release? Well, for fans of the film [and those who have listened to the FAQ on the DVD] it would have been awesome to get a sing-along version of the three main songs: Linda Linda, Boku no Migite and Owaranai Uta. You know, since Mr. Macias is already suggesting learning the lyrics and singing the songs in a Karaoke bar in Japan.

How about a Stills Gallery feature? Or a Trivia Page? A Trivia Page would be useful to actually confirm some of the information that runs online, like the one that said Yu Aoi was original cast in the film, but had to back out at the last minute?

Technical:	★★★★☆
Video Quality:	★★★★☆
Audio Quality:	★★★¾☆
Extras:	★☆☆☆☆
Packaging:	★★☆☆☆
Overall:	★★★☆☆

And how about Kamikaze Girls?

Well, let me get this started by saying that I was BUMMED! to find out that the “16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen” tag not only on the DVD case, but also on Amazon.com was there for nothing, because the film was actually transferred as Letterbox! Not even the menus on the DVD were designed as 16:9, so the film looks like crap on my television.

However, I must add that a couple of the features included on this DVD were kind of nice… meaning the Kyoko Fukada/Anna Tsuchiya interviews. There is also the “Sideways Mode” feature which lets you click on a cabbage during the film for Trivia… which I guess, it’s okay? An Anna Tsuchiya Music Video, where she looks a LOT like Alejandra Guzman, and your ever-there Original Japanese Trailers.

No cheap Extras improvement tips on this one.

Technical:	★★☆☆☆
Video Quality:	★☆☆☆☆
Audio Quality:	★★★★☆
Extras:	★★☆☆☆
Packaging:	★★☆☆☆
Overall:	★★½☆☆

In the end, who is the one that matters? The one that just buys DVD coz they’re cheap, or the true fans that have waited for the release of the film? Fans of the films demand better Special Features! We are already in the know about some Japanese customs that don’t need reminding on our DVDs.

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.

The film is based on an award-winning novel written by rookie author and housewife Kanae Minato. Actress Takako Matsu (K-20, Villon’s Wife) plays a dedicated teacher at a junior high school who’s young daughter is found brutally murdered. Believing two of her own students are responsible, she decides to leave the school, but not before a final chilling confession to her class in which she informs them that she’s already enacted her plan for vengeance.

Watch the trailer via Nippon Cinema.

I’m giddy to find out my Top 4 films of 2010 are in the Top10 xD though that could change. Of course, I’m giddy about Inception… why? Nolan + DiCaprio + Marion Cotillard + Ellen Page + Ken Watanabe + Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Hi, there. I’m already there.

Black Swan? Aronofsky + Natalie Portman? I’m sold with that.

The Kids Are All Right? Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska?

Blue Valentine? Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams~ Are you kidding?

You can vote for your fave here.

The other films I’m looking forward this 2010?

Hesher, Rabbit Hole, The Killer Inside Me, Norwegian Wood, and Contracorriente (Undertow).

A lot of people I know ended up as satisfied as they could have with the winners, though I know of one or two who weren’t, which is funny seeing as how inconsistent their opinions are.

Anyway, the Award Season updates is gone now, until it begins again this December. In the meantime, this were the last 10 posts of the season.

• Oscar 2010 Winners
• Oscar 2010 Winner Predictions
• Spirit Awards 2010 Winners!
• Spirit Awards 2010 Predictions
• Vote for the Green Globe Film Awards
• BAFTA Winners 2010
• Oscar 2010: Best Short Films Animated Nominees
• 2009 Online Film Critics Winners
• Annie Awards 2010 Winners
• Satellites Always Get Forgotten

It is amazing that has taken over 80 years to even consider a female director a serious contender for the Best Director category… let alone to actually see her win.

*edit*

“I hope I’m the first of many,” Bigelow said. “I’d love to just think of myself as a filmmaker, and I long for the day when a modifier can be a moot point. But I’m ever grateful if I can inspire some young, intrepid, tenacious male or female filmmakers and have them feel that the impossible is possible.”

*end of edit*

Of course I have dreamed of being the first female director when I was 14 [I wore a pink dress in my dream, very unlike Amy... or was that a nightmare?], though I have detoured from that dream somewhat, it is still amazing to see Bigelow picking up such an honor. I can only imagine what this means for so many other little girls who dream to make films… like I once did, to see a woman being named Best Director.

What it means to them seeing the photo of Bigelow holding that Oscar with such fierceness. It’s just every Girl Power [another shameless Spice Girls mention here] supporter’s dream. It tells you it is possible. It is awesome. Even though I was personally supporting Inglourious Basterds and Tarantino, it is still incredible to think that Kathryn Bigelow was the favorite during the race. A female director was THE favorite to win.

Even that’s a first.

In an industry where many of the stars are women, but so many of them are exploited as just “that pretty actress to look at”, an industry where women turn 35 and are already considered “too old” or where sex appeal is a must. Luckily things seem to be changing… even if it’s in small degrees. With a wonderful Meryl Streep, vibrant at 60 years old, critical acclaim and mass-appeal. Moreover, add to that the many female screenwriters from the last 2 or 3 or 5 years like Terri Tatchell (from VFS!) who co-adapted District 9, or Nancy Oliver who wrote Lars and the Real Girl, or Diablo Cody (I know some of you hate her) for Juno, or Tamara Jenkins who wrote and directed The Savages… and don’t forget Miranda July who wrote and directed Me and You and Everyone We Know.

It is indeed looking pretty good for women in Hollywood.

Now, let’s only hope it is a change in the way they make films and not just a trend that will fade away in… let’s say 5 years, and that we don’t have to wait eight decades for another female director to be seriously considered for Best Director ever again.

Also, hello!? Male directors and their muses~ I love you guys. Without you, there will be no strong female characters on the big screen.

If you haven’t checked the predictions, check them here.

Will be live blogging and posting winners during the night,
check back and refresh often.

Live blogging at Living in Cinema from the great Craig Kennedy~~~

–

OMG, I just pissed myself with Neil Patrick Harris xD

Monologues were funny. Especially the stabs at Meryl, Clooney, and Christoph Waltz. A room full of jews. Phunny.

Winners~~~

Best Supporting Actor
Christoph Waltz – Inglourious Basterds

Best Animated Film
Up

Best Song
Crazy Heart – Weary Kind

Best Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker

Animated Short
Logorama

Documentary Short
Music by Prudence

Live Action Short
The New Tenants

Best Makeup
Star Trek

Best Adapted Screenplay
Precious

Best Supporting Actress
Monique – Precious

Best Art Direction
Avatar

Best Costume Design
The Young Victoria

Best Sound Editing
The Hurt Locker

Best Sound Mixing
The Hurt Locker

Best Cinematography
Avatar

Best Score
Up

Best Visual Effects
Avatar

Best Documentary
The Cove

Best Film Editing
The Hurt Locker

Best Foreign Film
El Secreto de sus Ojos

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges – Crazy Heart

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock – The Blind Side

Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow – The Hurt Locker

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker

–

Few surprises here and there… meaning Original Screenplay and Foreign.
but wait for the next post on this Oscar History moments… Yay Girl Power!

1. La Antena (2007)
2. Elementary Particles (2006)
3. It’s Winter (2006) *
4. Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) *
5. Padre Nuestro (Sangre de mi Sangre) (2007)
   * Online Press Screening Available by Invitation Only.
6. The Perfume of the Lady in Black (2005) *
7. Riviera (2005) *
8. Someone Else’s Happiness (2005)
9. Young Yakuza (2007) *
10. The Return (2003)

* available to watch on TheAuteurs [Peru Region]

Then I also decided to check the 10 Most Popular films xD

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Citizen Kane (1941)
4. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
5. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
6. Taxi Driver (1976)
7. Pulp Fiction (1994)
8. Seven Samurai (1954)
9. The Shining (1980)
10. The Godfather II (1974)

Interesting to see 4 films from the 70s, 2 from the 60s… followed by one of the 50s, 40s, 80s and 90s. Then, it’s also 4 films by Stanley Kubrick, 2 by Francis Ford Coppola, and the films by Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, and Akira Kurosawa.