Archives For English

Oh, hey! I somehow missed this on my YouTube timeline- Yu Aoi’s 2016 New Year greeting xD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytkL0LaH_BM

I’ve lost most my Japanese powers in the past two years of no Japanese movies, music and television. LOL I can only make out the greeting xD I feel deflated because -crossing fingers- I may be heading to Japan for the holidays in a couple of months and scares the crap out of me because no one speaks Japanese in this trip~~~

My dream is that I’ll meet Yu-chan and tell her how big a fan I am/was. xD Must also remember to stock up on movies (hopefully with subs) and/or Shiina Ringo concert DVDs and discography.

Pepsi is prepping for the upcoming year of the Monkey in the Lunar calendar and Chinese horoscope with a commercial on the legendary Monkey King full of nostalgia and tradition. The recount of the generational Monkey King is a bit choppy, but it gets to its point.

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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

Japan does have some of the best commercials.

Japan-based Latina YAMmie Roxanne just shared these hilarious commercials for Van Houten Cocoa, featuring a mom who goes metal when crap things happen at home— her son begrudging her for not waking him up, a husband who does nothing, and a daughter who arrives late without notice.

And because lyrics are important, they have it subtitled— so don’t forget to turn the CC options on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7ZvoHXwi_k

No info on who’s in charge of the campaign, but their website states there will be a Special Movie coming out soon.

van-houten-cocoa-special-movie-mamametal

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

Anupama Chopra’s Film Companion just published their interview with Anushka Sharma, where she talks about being an actress in the Indian film industry, Hollywood gender numbers, being a producer and a public figure. It all comes down to the simple~

At the end of the day you want respect.

It’s a big on the long side (33min. long), but it’s worth it. Anushka is really outspoken and it’s great to listen to with her back and forth with Anupama.

Love this commercial… I could totally sit through this a couple of times if I saw it on TV. lol

I like the design of the watch a lot better than the Apple Watch, which seems kinda chunky and calls too much attention. But still shrugged at the fact that you need a smartphone to set it up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_NMGHlCAX8

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I ran into this clip of what seems a rehearsal of Yevgeny Mironov and Chulpan Khamatova dancing for the sequences of The Puppet Syndrome. If you do get a chance, do check it out.