Archives For Fun

Yo, guys! I just finished a watching of Raj Rachakonda’s 8 A.M. Metro, which stars Saiyami Kher and Gulshan Devaiah, and featured poems by Gulzar, as the film centers on the friendship of two lonesome souls who have a chance ephemeral encounter… and who happened to love reading books and poetry.

Seems like I have been in a movie positive mood lately, so it floored me.

For the last few months, though, I’ve been thinking about how Sai Pallavi and Saiyami Kher, since I saw the trailer for this film, both strongly reminded me of my Tabu-movie journey.

I had seen Sai Pallavi’s films since 2015’s Premam and 2017’s Fidaa, but she really just floored me with Shyam Singha Roy, which I wouldn’t have really loved without her part of the story. Then came Gargi, last year’s Amaran and then the promos for Thandel began. Besides the fact that she’s a wonderful dancer, Pallavi’s got one of the most wonderful expressive eyes.

In between, of course, Saiyami Kher made her Hindi debut with Mirzya in 2016, which I enjoyed a lot. It seems like I’m one of the very few people that actually kinda liked that movie. Since then that OST has been a constant on my music-playing habits. Then came Anurag Kashyap’s Choked and ran into her on Wild Dog. In between films, Kher had focused at lot of her output on long-form shows, so I was so thrilled to see her doing 8 A.M. Metro, and doing well with Agni and Ghoomer, which put her together in a project with Shabana Azmi, who is a sorta x-degree aunt of sorts. lol

Wild things happened at this year’s Spring Gala. Faye Wong awoke from her hibernation for a performance of What the World Gifted Me (世界赠予我的), which CCTV only has in this pre-recorded video presentation. [Edit: CCTV did eventually post the clip.]

Ni Ni showed up in this segment on Wuxi Scenery and National Feelings (无锡景 家国情), showcasing Jiangsu as a province. Ni Ni, and I suppose everyone involved in the segment, were born in Nanjing or other Jiangsu province cities.

However, most shocking and most improved was the unexpected collaboration between Chinese vocalist Zhou Shen (周深), Peruvian opera singer Juan Diego Flores and Peruvian multi-instrumentalist Lucho Quequezana for a remix of Lan Hua Hua (兰花花) and the lyric version of El Condor Pasa for The Condor and the Orchid Flower (山鹰和兰花花).

Many would remember Zhou Shen breaking through pop culture in the 2014 season of The Voice of China (中國好聲音), which led to different hits and numerous inclusions in soundtracks like his first ever Big Fish (大鱼) for the Big Fish & Begonia (大鱼海棠) animated film, which is one of my favorite Chinese animation projects.

YAMMag Mononoke Happened

December 30, 2024 — Leave a comment

This is likely the last post of 2024, breaking a dry spell of the last few years with a record 20 posts since 2018 when I posted 38 times.

This last post of 2024 is dedicated to Kenji Nakamura’s Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain (劇場版「モノノ怪 唐傘」), which crowfunded a while ago and has recently fulfilled orders. What an adventurous journey! We got a special credit for YAM Magazine!

It is an honor that we get to put our name in one of the team’s favorite series.

Let’s all look forward to what 2025 may bring!

I hope you all had an incredible 2024, and that you all were able to achieve what you set out to do (or close to achievement, anyway).

*Insert meme of “It’s been 84 years”*

After much mysterious drama, Marit and Marion have decided to come back together to make M2M a thing once again. You have no idea about the adrenaline rush I got when I saw Marit’s post, after missing the original posting on- “September 22nd, Sunday, twenty-five after nine.

Dorks.

I love them. I hope they saw A*Teens performing together for their reunion at Melodifestivalen back in February this year and were washed by a feeling of nostalgia that they couldn’t resist. In fact, M2M has already announced The Better Endings Tour (to change the ending of The Day You Went Away, dorks), visiting a number of places in South East Asia were much of their fandom was concentrated, especially in Manila where they are already selling tickets.

My hope is that maybe, if they would like to increase touring chances in Latin America, they could get together with A*Teens and make it a Scandinavian thing. [Jokes on you! Who’s the dork now?] Thought I wouldn’t mind at all getting the chance to see Marit and Marion up close in more intimate venues, which are my preferred form of performances to witness live, anyway.

In the meantime, M2M have set up a website where you can join their mailing list, and follow them on their main socials Facebook and Instagram, Tik Tok, and a kinda left over YouTube channel.

I forgot to post this a while back, but this is a total feeling when you’re listening to music and the song comes up.

Not gonna lie and say I haven’t been obsessing over the trailer for Crew since it dropped, and looking at the clips for Ghagra [1] and kinda giddy at the cover remix of Choli Ke Peeche [1].

I even finally re-watched Idhi Sangathi (with synced subs!) because of it.

Tabu finding riches in highly unusual places!

My only grip with the film, currently, is that my suspense of disbelief is dropped when I see them carrying kilos of gold. Autistic.

Other than that, I’m a super fan of potty-mouthed Tabu (I hope the announcement that theatrical was edited only means we get the potty-mouthed version on Netflix), and I want someone to ask them how much of the funny bits were ad-lib and improv, because that scene where they tell Kriti to sell her assets and the reaction to it was hilarious.

… is Amy.

I asked the collective conscious who the biggest Yu Aoi fan was, and it pulled this up.

I’ll take it.

Amy is the biggest Yu Aoi fan.

It took a while, but

Happy 1000th fan!

If you aren’t following the list yet, you might discover a gem or two!

Oscar Ballot 2020

January 13, 2020 — Leave a comment

I’m probably two weeks ahead, compared to my Ballot posting last year, which means my Independent Spirit Awards ballot is still halfway done, but my Academy voting ballot is pretty complete.

I might end up watching The Two Popes, but all I’m really waiting for to open in theaters is Bombshell (which opens this Thursday), Little Women and 1917. Harriet is never going to open down here, but I really got a soft spot for this type of movies.

I’m really REALLY surprised Girl in the Hallway didn’t make the cut. You can watch the short on Vimeo.

Now this is what we can call a comeback COMEBACK, not a regular Kpop Comeback. xD Years since their last album, Basic back in 2015, Brown Eyed Girls went their personal projects way— GaIn and JeA with solo music, Miryo releasing singles and participating on Unpretty Rapstar, and Narsha with varieties as well as getting married~

It’s good to have them BACK!

If you want to support Brown Eyed Girls’ RE_vive album cover compilation, you can order it at Ktown4u where it counts for Hanteo Sales. Album comes out on the 30th. YesAsia also carries the album with the poster tube, and without it.