Category: Art

  • Coupling (UK) – Shows You Should’ve Watched

    Coupling (uk)Though it wasn’t overly lasting, Coupling (the UK version, not its abominable US remake… ugh much?) should be included into anyone’s list of  “I should have watched this”. This is the case for me, I don’t get BBC comedies on my cable system (only the news, and they recently began showing BBC Entertainment), so the first time I saw this was on Eurochannel a few years back. In fact, they were already showing the final season… even then, I fell in love with the show.

    I think of myself as a bit of a mix between Susan, Sally and Steve. LOL’ But all characters were equally hilarious in their own way… and unlike FRIENDS, I never ended finding a character annoying. Perhaps, it’s because it only lasted 4 seasons, so I never got around to growing to hate them… okay, maybe I hated Oliver – but that’s because he is too much of Joey, and I ended up hating Joey.

    Steve (Jack Davenport) is hilarious… and man! His voice!! His voice and the monologues… like the one for “Lesbian Spank Inferno” LOL’ Jeff is also hilarious with his explanations, theories, women-related situations and many words on “breasts”.

    And more than Richard, I love Richard and Sally’s interactions, because well… Sally is gold. LOL’ “I finally understand why you called him ‘donkey’.” And totally missing the point. I think that my favorite episodes of the show, revolves around these two~~ with episodes like the one and the Spiderman theme, and the one where Sally ends up singing “Susan the Happy Trotting Elf” – *snorts*

    Then there’s Jane who is hilariously just out there… where? You know… there~~~ with the talking snakes, or improvising the traffic report… showing up naked to a dinner, or saying she’s a vegetarian that eats meat… you know, almost like a bisexual. x’D

    And Susan! I love uptight Susan, and I love it when she says “apparently”, and her French accent. LOL’ “Giselle, the French bitch” xD and her history with Australian men~~~

  • The Big Read – Because Everyone Deserves to Learn How to Read~~

    The Big Read - 2009

    Nelson Mandela, Queen Rania, Paulo Coelho, Luis Jaime Cisneros V. have come together with others around the world like Natalie Portman, and Dakota Blue Richards (The Golden Compass) on this global project for education.

    You can head over here to read some of the stories (in English, Francais, y Español~~ some even in Arabic… but why not in Chinese, Japanese and Korean? I could do some Japanese easy to read stuff~~), and add your name to the list~

  • Yu Aoi – Portugirl by Yoko Takahashi – Kodansha

    Yu with braces!!!

    Ok… moving on~~ Portugirl is in my hands!! Or actually, on my desk now, otherwise I wouldn’t be typing. HMV Japan is pretty good~ even though they delayed my order, they sent it 5 days ago and it’s here already! And considering I don’t get Free Shipping with YesAsia anymore… also noticed? Prices are higher in YesAsia now, for example Portugirl would have cost $20ish bucks more with them. Should you be doing YesAsia now?

    Anyway! Here it is!!!

    Yu Aoi - Portugirl

    Proper fan-ish review, after the break~~~ For a ‘pro’ review, you’ll have to wait. LOL

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  • 10 Years of 10 Things I Hate about You

    10 Things I Hate About You PosterToday I was re-watching BBC’s Shakespeare: The Animated Tales… particularly Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew. Despite it’s misogynistic theme, it reminded me of the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate about You~~

    How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways.

    Some time in 2003, on one of the many Writing classes I had, we got to ‘study’ the script for this film, which I had seen back when I was 13 or 14. I’m almost sure that I saw this film at the theaters… oh the times! And oh how innocent were teen comedies back then~~~

    Anyway, back to the topic~ my teacher pointed out that the film was a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Shrew~ Back then I thought, WOW! That’s so cool. LOL, she also mentioned at how much the script sold, and I was most impressed. Hahahaha~~

    For those not so familiar with the film, or the Shakespeare story… here are some of the references:

    • Kat (as in Katarina) and Bianca are sisters. Bianca can’t date (or marry, in the case of the Shakespearean tale), before Katarina does.
    • Patrick Verona is the contemporary version of Petruchio of Verona.
    • Padua, the city, becomes Padua High School.

    You can check more references here.

    It’s so hard to imagine that the film is already 10 years old!! – Turned 10 about 20 days ago on March 31st – and that this film was the American debut of Heath Ledger (RIP) who’s got a remarkable career with great films… awards *sighs(, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has a broad array of films as well more on the indie flare – and whatever happened to Andrew Keegan? I’m pretty sure he used to date LeAnn Rimes, whom we all know what’s going on with her~~

    Julia Stiles had a breakthrough with this role, and had a bunch of films out during those years, but eventually just settled for lesser roles. I did enjoy seeing her on The Bourne Trilogy~~ and Larisa Oleynik~~ I read she was seen on Without a Trace, but I don’t watch the show so can’t tell. I should go on the hunt for a few Oleynik flicks. Gabrielle Union is doing a big better on the more “commercial” work, as I’ve seen a few projects with her. Not really MY type of films, but she’s been active.

    I wonder if someone would be interested in a “collector’s edition” of this film. Would like to see them together…

    How do you feel this film is aging? I think it’s okay… I had a laugh watching it this afternoon. I was surprised how innocent it is compared to teen films now. I don’t know if I can call this the best teen romcom of the 90’s (or the last 20 years?), but perhaps… I could do a bit more research.

  • Record Store Day…

    was today~~~


    recordstoreday.com

    Damn. I must admit I haven’t stepped on a record store since… since… maybe perhaps 2006? I do most my shopping online now, mainly because Peru overprices too much, and takes to long to get stuff. For example, I wanted to buy the Surrounded Bjork collection, and the store here decided to split the collection per album and wanted around $30USD per album because they were all dual discs – so considering it had 7 discs at $30 each… they wanted me to pay $210 bucks instead of the $130 price tag it has on Amazon. And it’s not only the music… I have the same issue with books and dvds.

    Also… there weren’t any events in Peru anyway. There were, however, events in Canada, Sweden, Japan, and even Hong Kong. And I am still looking for the Asian-version of Pitchfork… any suggestions??

  • Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature Nominees – Part II

    For Part I of this post, click away~~

    Okay, today is not really early either… but this will have to do because I only have 3 years to go. In case you haven’t read the first part, or are lazy to read it now that I’ve given you the link… I got a little mad remembering films that should have won in years past~~ which include Tekkonkinkreet, and/or Paprika getting nominations in 2006 (or 2007, pick your release date issue).

    So just after the break, I will be talking about 2005, 2007 and 2008…

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hachimitsu to Clover – Honey & Clover

    Let’s start with what the film is about:
    Live Action version of the famous manga series Hachimitsu to KURO~BA, it follows the lives of five art school students, who are trying to find their way through life and love. Takemoto is not a very good art student… preferring to talk about Japanese castles and models. Morita (Yusuke Iseya – Kiraware Matsuko no Issho, Blindness) is an amazing artist, but fears the real world and prefers to stay behind in the safety of college life. Mayama (Ryo Kase – Tokyo!, PAKO to Mahou no Ehon, GUGU Datte Neko de Aru) is in love with (and stalking) his boss, while Yamada is head over heels for him. And Hagumi (Yu Aoi) is a child prodigy…

    Genre: Drama, Light Comedy
    Starring: Sho Sakurai,Yu Aoi, Yusuke Iseya, Ryo Kase, Megumi Seki
    Appearances by: Masato Sakai, Shido Nakamura
    Duration: nearly 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead!

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  • Academy Awards: Best Animated Feature Nominees – Part I

    Most often than not, there’s a lack of foreign films in the Animated Feature (and in any other) field~ So how many times must we pass over great animation (not only for kids) to open our eyes? I started out with a qucik search for 2006 released animation (because I was discussing that year with a friend), but that didn’t do anything except make me skim through an article stating that “2006 was a great year for animation” – NOT! That there were 2 or 3 animated (3d CG) films each months totaling more than a dozen films of pretty much crappy quality… and if they were lucky they were worth a straight-to-dvd release is NOT a great year for animation. That just makes it a great year for movie business…

    2006 was the year I began hating 3d animation, because everyone seemed to be releasing their 3d films JUST to cash in.

    I ended up at the Academy Awards site to search all animated films nominated since the category began in 2001 with Shrek (the original not sequels) won. I also ended up on IMDb and their ‘Power Search’ tool to search for animated films with feature releases from the year.

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  • For Fans, by the Fans: The Hunt for Gollum Trailer

    Looks pretty darn good… aside from one or two things on the trailer ;)

    Check it out yourself…

    [iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/HSTYubpLxg8?rel=0″]

    Or you know… you can watch the French & Saunders version~

  • Muahaha – New from Lars Von Trier: Antichrist Trailer

    Yeah, the new film from Lars Von Trier doesn’t deserve an Ooh La~ it’s far to creepy, that’s why it deserves an evil laugh. *MUAHAHA*

    [iframe width=”480″ height=”390″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/eBdDcQONmkM”]

    I wonder WHEN the final installment of the Lars Von Trier trilogy, Wasington, will get (if ever) made~~