Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Written by Amy on Friday, November 28th, 2008 ( One response ) |
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This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).
This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD
Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…
A little about the film:
(from Wikipedia)
It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.
Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
Duration: 2hrs
Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
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Filed under: Celebrity, DVD, English, Films, Fun, Japanese, Posters, Reviews, Sharing, Spanish, Television, Torrents
Tags: etsushi toyokawa, hula girls, shoko ikezu, yu aoi, yu aoi film discussion
Written by Amy on Wednesday, November 26th, 2008 ( Start discussion ) |
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Also known as Izu no Odoriko, or The Izu Dancer is the first published work (1926) to achieve popularity and acclaimed by Yasunari Kawabata. The book, very much like Kyoto, is about nothing at all… in fact, this is just a compilation of stories put together.
The first one, which gives the name to the book is one of the few interesting ones, as well as Diario de mi Decimosexto Año that tells some of the moments of Kawabata’s dying grandfather. Some other stories I liked were La Princesa del Palacio Dragón, El Camino de Monedas, and Una Oración en Lengua Materna.
Despite that, the just over 200-page book seemed to be a very long and slow book, compared to the reading time it took me to finish Kyoto. If you are a fan of Yasunari Kawabata’s writing about a time and a place and the people, you might enjoy this compilation of stories. If you’re looking for an introduction to him, or an epic tale about Japan… you might want to skip this one.
Filed under: Books, English, Japanese, Photographs, Reviews, Sharing, Spanish
Tags: izu no odoriko, la bailarina de izu, the dancing girl of izu, yasunari kawabata
Written by Amy on Tuesday, November 25th, 2008 ( 6 responses ) |
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Yay for no “this content is not available in your country” messages. Britney and IMEEM team up and have released Circus for preview one week ahead of it’s official release on December 2. I was actually kinda worried that I might not be able to listen to it (like I can’t see some official video releases on YouTube), but thank you IMEEM for letting me sample.
Don’t have an opinion yet… I’m on track two. Anyway, you too… listen to this.
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Filed under: English, Music, Reviews, Sharing
Tags: britney spears, circus, imeem, new album
Written by Amy on Monday, November 24th, 2008 ( Start discussion ) |
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Because I didn’t. I don’t watch awards for music (anymore) other than Grammy, and MTV… and I am doubtful I consider MTV any worth now. However, I read enough headlines on the past American Music Awards to make me curious… so did you watch? I saw 6 clips of the performances…
- Christina Aguilera
- Taylor Swift
- New Kids on the Block
- Jonas Brothers
- Sarah McLachlan & Pink
- Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah & Kathleen Battle
I do like Christina Aguilera, in fact, I love Back to Basics as an album. I don’t think her “greatest” hits was either great (like the writer for Entertainment Weekly) or sucked (like Lainey said) - It was neither here nor there… though the performance of each song was ok, the medley was disaster. O.o
Another medley disaster was New Kids on the Block. LOL - and I do sing along to Steps by Steps or the Right Stuff, so I’m not a hater. I like Jordan Knight solo stuff, as well as Joey McIntyre… but new NKotB smells like middle age crisis. They are still trying to sell it to teens, while telling us NKotB has matured. Doesn’t reflect on the music…
LOL, don’t even get me started on the Jonas Brothers. This is the second live performance I see of them and I’m still unimpressed.
Sarah McLachlan and Pink was good, as was Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah and Kathleen Battle, though I felt that Kathleen Battle didn’t mix well with the whole feel and number, even if she has a voice.
Taylor Swift, however, I was actually kind of impressed. I haven’t had the chance to hear or review Taylor’s sophmore album, just her debut which I thought was kind of decent. Then I heard her speak in an interview and lost the little respect I could get from hearing her music, but this is the first time I see her performing… I was sort of reminded of Faith Hill. *blasphemy!!* xD
White Horse is a pop country-ish ballad that faintly reminded me of Faith Hill’s Fireflies… talking about fairytales and real life, I still need to give a listen to both songs back to back to really know what I’m talking about, but Swift reminded me of Faith Hill in that AMA performance. OJO! Just faintly reminds me… Faith Hill has a voice so powerful… Swift’s voice still needs maturing, she sounds more like a chill studio Avril Lavigne at the moment, but if she goes the right way, I can imagine her in 15 years with a really powerful voice… and better stage presence… you gotta admit she looked a little bit nervous standing there…
Filed under: English, Music, Reviews, Sharing, Television
Tags: abc, alicia keys, american music awards, christina aguilera, faith hill, performance, pink
Written by Amy on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 ( Start discussion ) |
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I was gonna apologize for not getting the time to write a new review, luckily I found that this reviewed followed next. Yay! xD
Nanako to Nanao – Ane to Otouto ni Nareru Hi
I have no idea where to put this since it’s not a film, but it’s also not a series. Sure it is, for some reason, labeled as a TV show or series… but no. It’s a TV movie, people. What is the difference between a film/movie and a TV movie, you say? Well, first it’s medium… then it’s budget and resources. In the end, you can almost always tell the difference between one and the other.
What’s this TV movie about?
Well… let’s see~ It’s a 2004 NHK Made-for-TV-Film about a high school girl named Nanako (Yu Aoi), who is often labeled as weird and anti-social due to trust issues with people caused by the betrayal she feels her dad committed. Seven years after his death, Nanako is thrown into the unusual situation to cohabit with her half-brother, Nanao (Yuri Chinen).
Genre: Drama… kinda cute, but drama.
Starring: Yu Aoi, Yuri Chinen
Duration: 1:15hr
Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.
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Filed under: Celebrity, English, Films, Fun, Japanese, Posters, Reviews, Screencaps, Sharing, Television, Torrents
Tags: nanako & nanao, nanako to nanao, nhk, tv movie, yu aoi, yu aoi film discussion, yuri chinen