Category: Rants

  • Japanese Cinema Blogathon 2009 – Day4

    I’ve hated #4 this past weeks. That number is an unlucky number…

    Anyway, this is my 4th contribution to the Japanese Cinema Blogathon, if you haven’t been reading… which I hope you have had~~~ because that’s the whole point of this blogathon, right? To promote J-Films…

    Which brings me to today’s topic.

    First, Your Friends~ Then the World!

    How to Make People Watch Japanese Cinema

    It’s all about compromise. God knows I’ve tried so hard to get my friends interested in it, because sometimes it can get boring talking to people about it just online… *sighs* I’m sure I come off as pushy, etc~ and many of them won’t budge. I even offer them films to watch for free… they only need to come over, and that’s that.

    Last year I had a Foreign Film gathering (they chose the foreign theme, anyway), two of the nine films scheduled that day were Tetsuya Nakashima’s Memories of Matsuko – mainly because I’m crazy about that film, and I had just watched it a few weeks prior – and Shunji Iwai’s Hana & Alice, because Iwai-san and Yu Aoi is lurv. Sadly, no one came on time to watch Matsuko (only one friend arrived… halfway through the film), and I highly doubt they made any connection with Hana & Alice.

    Needless to say, I’m setting up another film gathering, though I haven’t made them choose themes yet. I have a few lists I’ve made and they contain a couple of Japanese films. Let’s hope one of them stays this year! *crosses fingers*

    Anyway… you don’t want to come off as pushy – and like I said above… it’s all about compromise.

    • You have a friend who wants to make you watch something of his own?? Maybe he wants to get you into Lost, Heroes… or Battlestar Gallactica? Give in, tell him you will watch a season (or maybe a few episodes, depending on your willingness to compromise) in exchange he should watch a film or two.

    This will make your friend feel like you are not pushing him to watch something, instead you’re just exchanging interests… and who knows, you might end up enjoying both those hobbies.

    • When you blog about it, mix things up a little. We blog about Japanese Cinema, but in the end people who already like Japanese Cinema read your posts.

    The point of this blogathon is to promote Japanese Cinema, but we are the ones dealing and discussing. I mentioned this blogathon to a friend, and she had no idea why she should care. *doh!* – combine the idols with your favorite Japanese Directors, and get them at least skimming through your posts. Make a western comparison… got something to write about vampire films? psych ward films? I mean Clive Owen has said that he wants to work with Wong Kar Wai and Ang Lee again… that means some teenage Owen fans would be at least be interested in checking out some more work by both directors.

    How about a crazy collaboration between Johnny Depp and Tetsuya Nakashima? Or Juliette Binoche and Shunji Iwai?

    • Make a fuzz about collaborations. No matter how good or bad you may think they are.

    I made a fuzz about Tokyo! – I kind of really worship Michel Gondry’s visual style… then there was Ryo Kase, and Yu Aoi. – I’ve also been making a fuzz over New York, I Love You because it’s got Shunji Iwai’s short with Orlando Bloom. Now, I don’t like Orlando Bloom (I’ve only ever liked him as Legolas LOL), but if there are people who enjoy the short… there is a small chance that a teenage Bloom fan might check out Iwai’s past work.

    • Introduced them with what they like.

    My dad likes comedies… and action films, but well~ he also happens to like Asian culture, LOL’ so maybe I’m being a little unfair here. Anyway, I’ve made him watch films like Linda Linda Linda, Matsuko, Swing Girls, Tekkon, Kamikaze Girls… then one day he brought me Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams. *laughs* I was surprised myself, but my dad had a newly-found interest in Japanese films (mostly the epic kind though… xD)

    and to just not have FOUR bullet points here…

    • … just keep pushing~

    Keep bugging people. Someone will need to budge, right? LOL

  • Japanese Cinema Blogathon 2009 – Day3

    Continuing with this Blogathon (hmm… I’m finding it harder and harder to write) – I read the following post by Ulrik about Japanese subtitle distribution on blu-ray~ sad, sad indeed~

    But the question is… would you buy blu-ray/DVDs with English subs?

    Many of us, who watch through torrents and P2P, would probably not buy. I know a LOT of people who think they have the right to not buy a film they love – I get a little pissed when they say that. Not because they do not pay for films… but because they don’t WANT to pay for things they supposedly LOVE. I really can’t stand that.

    You will always find me with little money on the wallet or my bank account (depending on where I do the buying…) because I literally spend whatever I get to cash in on the films I love (and used to be films I liked, LOL). It’s really depressing, if you think about it economicaly~ but my love for certain films make it worth the while. Really, watching films and talking about films make me forget about my surroundings hahaha.

    [so please, ads my clicking. oh yes, i did again~~ LOL]

    So I yearn for English (or Spanish… or even French as of lately) subtitles, so why aren’t they getting subbed? And even sadder (but not as sad as others…) – Why do some films take over six months to get fansubbed?? I worship fansubbers, because they provide something so very useful. But it would be nice to get DVDs with subs, right?

    So let’s see… Hmm… I dunno if I can make it to 10 films, so we’ll see~~

    The Japanese Films I’ve Bought with English Subtitles

    Not including Region 1 releases
    Hooray for multi-region players! Yes, because I still haven’t made the change to Blu-ray xD

    • Memories of Matsuko 2-disc Special Edition [Hong Kong]
      I bought this one right away after watching the film. I loved the film so much, that I didn’t even cared that the only version I could find online was a Region 3. This also happened to be the first Region 3 disc I ever bought. I ended up really happy with the product because everything came subtitled (including extras), and at a descent price.
    • GUU GUU Datte Neko de Aru 2-disc First Press Limited Edition [Japan]
      I have to admit. It hurt me to pay~ LOL – Specially because the Korean version is half the price, but I also must admit that I was curious to see the difference between Japanese DVDs and the rest… so this became my first ever official Japanese DVD.
    • The first Inuyasha Movie (Toki o Koeru Omoi, Affections through Time)[Japan?]
      – hahaha, I know~ – I used to watch Inuyasha when I was in school. It was during those years that my friends had tried to anime-fying me, so I went to this “specialized” in anime shop in town, and bought a copy of the film. Though I’m not entirely sure now if it was a real copy or a bootleg, because to tell you the truth… it doesn’t compared to my copy of GUU GUU.
      And in the end… I bought a Region 1 copy. LOL
    • Love Letter 10th Anniversary Version [Hong Kong]
      I can’t remember right now if the Japanese was available for purchase, when I bought this. I really, really love Shunji Iwai’s work (part of the reason I want to watch New York, I Love You now~), so I just couldn’t help myself from getting a copy of Love Letter… because I’m a sap. I was slightly disappointed on this release due to some issues with the sync of subs, but I can live with that. If I come around some more extra cash, I would consider getting a better copy though~~~
    • Niji no Megami [Hong Kong]
      Truth be told… I wish this film had a better release, but since this is the only version I found with subs – this one it is! LOL’ – Again, it’s got Shunji Iwai on it as a stamp, so I couldn’t help myself. Add to that Yu Aoi and Juri Ueno. I’m lost. Plus, Hayato Ichihara is a cutie. He’s weird here, but he’s so so pretty.

    Some other films, I’ve found on Region 1. But I only wish someone would release Hyakuman-en with subs – and I know they aren’t films but I would love someone would release Camouflage (this one doesn’t even have complete fansubs!) and Osen with subs. LOL

    Come on WOWOW~ Get on with it! You’ve already licensed Hito no SEKKUSU as a Free Region with Subs in Taiwan! Which I’m so thinking of buying… but really, I’m more interested in getting Camouflage subbed/fansubbed… okay, and maybe Hyakuman-en.

  • Damn it! Damn it to hell!

    Who would hack the portfolio of a lame freelancer??? Really.

    Any self-respecting hacker would go on and hack Twitter to frak everyone up! Make all the celebrities say eevn more stupid things, I would get that… I would get hacking Disney, or any important website. Hack the Obama sites – but why would they hack me??? I mean, who am I?

    Heck! Even hacking a fansite makes more sense, after all… they get a couple hundred thousands visits a day – that makes sense, their “look at me, look at me” attempts wouldn’t be in vain. But my portfolio? Do you really have that much time to just have fun hacking into a poor freelance’s portfolio? Do you get thrills from deleting an index page? Do you even know me? Ugh, completely utter waste of time… wasted my afternoon.

  • Last Month’s Update~

    Well, it’s half of 2009 already! CRAP!

    Last month I did a 50-post month! One up from the record of 49, LOL.

    It’s begun to be a bit chilly on this side of the world, and well… let’s say it’s hard to get out of a warm cozy bed. Also, I will be doing a bit more photographing *crosses fingers* from this point forward. I’m excited about that~

    Also, I got bored of my French. *sighs* Marion should really come up with a new French movie, LOL. How do I get out of this business? Or someone please! Begin commenting in some French so I can get into it again…

    Also, I still need money. LOL – Oh shit, and I should really call Canada Trust to figure out the business with my credit card. *sighs* things are supposed to be easy when getting your credit card, why does snail mail suck so much?

    Also, YAM 004 – it’s coming in some short two-weeks time give or take. This one’s been a tough issue, I need a bump of energy on that too. YAM cannot DIE in just 4 issues. I will make it happen~~~ I just need something to get me by until next award season.

  • New Buffy Movie?

    Say what?!

    with not the original cast, or Joss Whedon??? WHAT?

    shoot me now.

    I know vamps are all the craze now *coughtwi-hardscough* – right~~~ but, no – as much as I lurvvvvvv Buffy, I’d rather not see, actually… not see THIS MADE unless Whedon gets involved.

    I know there’s little to no chance of Sarah Michelle Gellar to join, I don’t have an issue with a new slayer… or many (if you read the comic ;)) BUT Joss and all the original writers need to be involved with this, or is NOT Buffy.

  • Machu Picchu Post – French Animation with Peruvian Flare

    Years… well, maybe a year ago – I ranted Peruvian animation not being compelling enough. I have also ranted about how tired I feel of 3d animation (most of the times), but there are times when I have to talk about things because they are important to note.

    Machu Picchu Post is an animated short from Clement Crocq, Margaux Durand-Rival and Nicolas Novali. They are French, and did their whole Machu Picchu Post style reference from research. Research!!! Research is so important, and this is why I ultimately decided to blog them.

    I have always found Alpamayo (and most recently, the team in charge of the Dolphin story blah blah) to be lacking research, not storywise (though I beg to differ sometimes) but on execution. Of course, you don’t only research styles, textures, colors, etc… you also research movement, and light quality. It’s not enough to just HAVE the best computer equipment… you also go on field trips, you do experiments.

    Anyway, this is my brief rant. French animation students (and now animators) are creating more compelling animations regarding Peruvian culture. Here’s the video:

  • Eurovision 2009… Mmmkay?

    Norway? Really?? Look, I think fiddling is cool [just look at Mairead from Celtic Woman doing The Butterfly], tiny as she is… she totally pawns this Alexander Rybak dude. So I took the time… REALLY, watched ALL the entries… some where good others were just AWFUL… case and point, Bulgaria. How can Bulgaria do that after having Elitsa Todorova with Stoyan Yankoulov and the song Water in 2007’s contest?

    And just to get this out of the way… Sweden, Malena Ernman could totally beat me up with those muscles. LOL

    Who I thought was the best? In not a mainstream way…

    Slovakia – Kamil Mikulcik with Nela Pociskova – Let Tmou

    Who are the rest? And who seem to be mainstream good?

    (more…)

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  • Woohoo! Passed the 6-Month-Mark!

    Hey, people!! For those of you just beginning to read this blog, the 6-Month-Mark refers to how long my interest seems to last.

    I’m sooooo happy to say that it’s almost a year since I first saw All About Lily Chou Chou, and Rainbow Song. In fact, I’ve got my timeline all figured out (thank you, FB hahaha) – It will be a year on the 16th… since I got Asian (Japanese) cinemaphiled… a year of complete Yu Aoi also.

    I’m preparing a ‘special’ post for that day, hahaha ‘coz it’s been a long time since I had found a subject to last this long… 3 years, give or take of fluttering fandoms. And because Yu Aoi fandom seems scattered, or very idol-craze sometimes… I have taken as my ‘job’ to create a place where we focus a lot on projects, and work less on icons, banners and graphic making. A place to discuss films, the seldom ‘crazy good’ photoshoots and NOT focus on personal life. LOL

    As much as I love reading Lainey every weekday… I will not be blogging about Yu’s personal life. I have decided~~~ Now, you can blame that on two websites I visit (two actresses… one I’m a frequent visitor, and the other I’m even ghost staff almost hahaha). I’ve been taught to respect their privacy, and so I will. *sighs*

    I will not be re-branding my site… this will still be my blog, and I will post about any other subjects that I want (specially during Award Season)… but hopefully I will have a good amount of Yu Aoi postings monthly. You may have also noticed that some links to Yu Aoi films are not working anymore, and I doubt I will be posting any film on my own… they are quite easy to find through Google.

    I’m not against downloading stuff for distribution sake, I’m also in favor of fansubs… but if you love one of the films, and a release with the subtitles of your liking is officially available, go ahead and buy it. Buy photobooks… and other merchandise you feel like getting as long as it is to support an actor and their work. Don’t go around saying you support someone if you haven’t ever bought one of their films (in any region), or haven’t even gone to the theater to watch their films (in case the film is distribute theatrically), or even spent $20 to buy their ‘official’ calendar.

    Yes, I know. Photobooks are pricey, so are Japanese region DVDs (and some don’t even have subtitles!!), but there are other ways you can support someone. American fans can go watch Tokyo! in theaters… they can buy Hana & Alice, or All About Lily Chou Chou, they can also buy Hula Girls. They can also support Yu projects by buying TekkonKinkreet on DVD and Blu-ray… or buying Honey & Clover which seems a pretty popular Yu Aoi film, or the Tetsujin 28 which I haven’t even dared to watch.

    As a final note, you can pre-order Tokyo! (if you liked it, I’m not making anyone buy anything against their will) on DVD and Blu-ray discs, which will be released on June 30th.

  • The Global Culture of Eating Disorders

    Quiet Room ni Youkoso - Cast - Yu Aoi, Yuki UchidaWatching Welcome to the Quiet Room, and listening to Yu Aoi’s Miki character telling Asuka she doesn’t eat because whatever she eats means that someone else more worthy doesn’t get to eat it, totally left me cold. I wondered what was the situation of eating disorders in Asia, since it’s ‘common knowledge’ that Asians are genetically skinny.

    *sighs* I ended up reading quite a few articles dealing with the issue as far back as 1999 until this year. Throughout all of them, there is  an emphasis on cases on bi-racial young women, or women living in a bi-cultural environment. Taking the example of Chinese-American or British-Chinese women who weren’t as self-conscious about their weight living on this side of the world, but would get ‘picked on’ back in Asia because they tend to be ‘bigger’.

    But I wasn’t too interested in those particular cases, I was trying to find how common are these eating disorder cases in other cultures, particularly Asia. I always thought Asians were thin naturally… always thought they’re skinny and love food. That’s what I’ve always seen in my family. It’s also noted on many of the articles that this value for food comes from the terrible years of starvation they went through in countries like China, India, Cambodia… even Peru where there still exists malnourishment. It is a crime to not eat, when there’s people who have nothing to eat. Yes, that’s why Quiet Room totally freaked me out… it was the first time I had heard that reason~~~ So there are eating disorders much more complicated than the “I want to be thin” one, for bi-cultural people is the “I want to be white”, for others it’s the sense of taking control over their lives…

    (more…)

  • WordPress + Google Friend Connect

    Testing it out… you’ve noticed?

    Seems to be okay, though I got a bit confused when my Google account wouldn’t let me be my own ‘admin’ automatically… sighs. Just had to sign off completely~~

    In case you may be interested… it does seem like it could be a good tool.

    Here’s the Google Friend Connect section, and in case you want to implement this with your WordPress, this plugin seems to do the trick for the moment.

    So please, if you’ve got a Google account, use it for the comments ;) and subscribe.