Archives For by amy wong

My Life in Movies

February 5, 2016 — Leave a comment

Will also keep this updated.

*Updated every February 5th.

Customary MUBI list.

Indian Cinema of 2015

December 29, 2015 — 2 Comments

I already published my list of 2015 Best Films, now I’m just segregating all the content from each other. I even have my Top10 Films Directed by Women.

The journey, you guys, the journey is two-and-a-half years old [1][2][3][4][5] already and counting. I’m no longer tracking what I’m watching because it got way too complicated. And though the number of Indian films I get to watch is minuscule to the actual output; at 38 films this year (of 203), it’s the most I’ve seen in a year. It’s almost one movie a week (!!) and it almost reaches my mark of 46 (of 274) of last year. And it totally surpasses my 33 mark in 2013 when I started it all.

*Note: Though 113 films (over 55% of the list) is English-based, not all of them are Hollywood movies. The number also considers UK, Canadian, Irish and Australian productions and some other mix-and-match co-productions.

Of course, I’m way more comfortable navigating mainstream Hindi cinema than I am Tamil or other industries. But Anupama Chopra has just released her video of the Best and Worst of Hindi Cinema in 2015, so I got inspired to have my own segregated list. xD

The Best of Indian Cinema 2015

  1. Dil Dhadakne Do (dir. Zoya Akhtar)
  2. Talvar (dir. Meghna Gulzar)
  3. Piku (dir. Shoojit Sircar)
  4. Masaan (dir. Neeraj Ghaywan)
  5. Dum Laga Ke Haisha (dir. Sharat Katariya)
  6. NH10 (dir. Navdeep Singh)
  7. Margarita, with a Straw (dir. Shonali Bose)
  8. Bajrangi Bhaijaan (dir. Kabir Khan)
  9. Baahubali: The Beginning (dir. S.S. Rajamouli)
  10. Angry Indian Goddesses (dir. Pan Nalin)

The Worst of Indian Cinema 2015

  1. Dirty Politics (dir. K.C. Bokadia)
  2. Badlapur (dir. Sriram Raghavan)
  3. Phantom (dir. Kabir Khan)
  4. Katti Batti (dir. Nikhil Advani)
  5. Hawaizaada (dir. Vibhu Puri)

Haha, Kabir Khan in both lists xD

Still Pending~

  • Aligarh
  • Ayal Njanalla
  • Bajirao Mastani
  • Charlie (dir. Martin Prakkat)
  • Dilwale
  • Dhanak
  • Kothanodi
  • Main Aur Charles
  • Orange Mittai
  • Premam
  • Shaandaar
  • Tamasha
  • Thani Oruvan
  • Thoongaa Vanam
  • Umrika
  • Zubaan

 

Merry Christmas, everyone! I spent all day listening to Xmas music xD

During this year’s family dinner, I made a decision on my New Year resolution- I bow to try to not be a moral superior asshole in discussions. And I kowtow to those I had ugly discussions with (if any), if I ever made you scream at your screen- I’m sorry. I had an ugly discussion about food! FOOD! A discussion on food got ugly! LOL It was like being on an internet forum, and I kept feeding the troll. I’m sorry.

Anyway~

Today I decided to not stress over my End of the Year list any longer, so I finally published my list of Favorite Films of 2015~

amys-favorite-2015-films

I managed to get 195, without counting the films that I didn’t rank because I don’t rate certain documentaries. I managed to squeeze in Carol, The Revenant, and Spotlight… which did almost crack my Top10 Films in English. I wonder if I hadn’t post the list, if it would’ve placed differently.

Oh, that also means that, just like my movie collection, I’ve segregated my lists by languages. There’s a general list, but also included lists for films in English, Chinese/Mandarin, Indian, Latino and Miscellaneous languages, which includes all languages that I didn’t watch enough films for a proper Top10.

It’s out, it’s out! You know what to do~

yammag-amys-top50-songs-2015

Yup, once again~

Back in 2010, the YAM Magazine website was launched officially— it was my grandpa’s 5th death anniversary. Today, it’s his 10th year anniversary… also it’s the 5th YAM web anniversary! Numerology galore~~~

Anyway~ I posted my 2015 music highlights~ early, once again. There were a few albums of my biases, but most of these picks are new people I’ve begun following this year. So… happy listening!

amys-2015-music-highlights

Hace años luz que no escribo algo en español (o contundente) en este blog.

¿Por qué el título de “las alternativas asiáticas sin chifa“? Porque tengo cierto nivel de ética pues. Muchos de nosotros tendremos nuestros favoritos (cuando escribimos de películas, de música, de actores, etc.), si un bloguero/periodista/crítico es amigo/conocido del tema principal de una publicación, pues es ético decir “Es mi pata. Yo lo conozco.” Será por eso… o ¿sencillamente será porque no me gusta conocer gente y disfruto de ser introvertida?

La cosa es que, los que me conocen saben que tengo relación con uno o más chifas– familiares, amigos, amigo de un amigo, primos de un amigo, etc. Así que es por eso que ésta es la lista de comida asiática en Lima sin contar los miles de restaurantes chinos que hay. ¡Bada-bim bada-boom!

alternativas-asiaticas-de-lima-comida

A mi me gusta comer… no desde hace mucho— como todos (o la mayoría), era quisquillosa. Al graduarme de la secundaria, me fui a vivir a la ciudad canadiense de Vancouver (casi) por mi cuenta; primero, con una tía abuela, y luego sola. Ser quisquilloso (hasta los 17 años) para comer en una ciudad como Vancouver es difícil, especialmente si no sabes cocinar y todos tus amigos han crecido comiendo cosas distintas. Fue ahí, sorprendentemente, que creo que me convertí en foodie. Poco a poco, pero llegué.

Desde mi regreso, el boom gastronómico no solo se dio en la cocina peruana tradicional— todos le damos fuerte; los anticuchos, el ceviche, un buen shambar, o un buen juane con su presa de gallina. ¡Uy! El boom gastronómico también se dio en la comida asiática. Ayuda que el Kpop haya entrado con fuerza con el Hallyu Wave, pero también la colonia japonesa se abrió al paladar… aunque no estoy segura si atribuírselo al anime.

Así que comencemos… ésta es una lista de años de investigación. No hay ni una lista publicada que ofrezca tantas opciones, y por supuesto- como tomó tanto tiempo, muchas de las listas originales ya han cambiado. ¡Ja! Pero la mayoría se ha mantenido en un 90%.

Continue Reading…

monk-mountain-heart-kwok

monk-mountain-heart-chang

– Master, I wanted to see someone, but couldn’t.
– Have you not seen him in your heart?

My Life in Music

August 2, 2015 — Leave a comment

Will keep this list updated here.

I’m currently basking myself in the beauty that is Henry Huo’s (霍尊) first full-length album Heavenly Song or Tianyun (天韵). He was the winner of the first season of Sing my Song (中国好歌曲) when he cause a ruckus with his song Rolled-up Pearl Curtain (卷珠帘) [1], which he ended up performing at the 2014 CCTV Spring Festival Gala.

henry-huo-zun-tianyu-heavenly-song-album

You can listen to the album over at Xiami or Migu Music (for US locked).

Lyrics, English/Español translations and song embed below the break~

Once again, all Chinese translations by me to be taken with a pinch of salt. xD

Continue Reading…

Todo lo que se diga de mí es mentira, no soy Doña Diabla, ni una mujer sin alma, ni mucho menos China Poblana que se queda con lo que no es suyo. Con la imagen que el público tenía de mí, no hubiera podido vivir, me conformaba con que dijeran que soy la mujer más bella del mundo, salí de El Peñón de las Ánimas y llegué a París como La Bella Otero, he sido una eterna enamorada, pero no soy una diosa arrodillada. He sido La Generala de mi pueblo en Sonora, así como Doña Bárbara, La Mujer de Todos, me conocieron como La Devoradora porque todos eran los ambiciosos que querían a la Maclovia de Pátzcuaro.

Maria Felix: Rostro del Cine Mexicano

maria-felix

Everything that’s been said about me is a lie, I’m not Doña Diabla nor the Woman Without a Soul, much less a China Poblana that keeps what’s not hers. With the image the audience had of me, I wouldn’t have been able to live, I settled for them saying I was the most beautiful woman in the world. I came out of The Rock of Souls and made it to Paris as La Belle Otero, I’ve been A Woman in Love, but I’m not The Kneeling Goddess. I’ve been La Generala of my hometown in Sonora, just like I was Doña Barbara, One Woman for All. They knew me as La Devoradora because everyone else were the overambitious that wanted the Maclovia from Patzcuaro.