Category: Films

  • Oh, Eita! Why Thou Maketh Me Cry?

    EitaLOL, I don’t even know if that’s grammatically correct, but it will do~~

    So… I got ready to watch Atsu-Hime. Why? Because! Because in about… 5hrs? Yes, I should wake up at 6am, NHK will be showing the last episode of Atsu-Hime (ep50) and I just got up to date with episode 37, and read the summary for the rest (up to ep49, which I saw last week without understanding anything).

    Anyway, I also saw some interview on Friday afternoon that NHK did to Aoi Miyazaki… which I didn’t understand either~~ LOL’ at least not the majority of what they were talking about.

    Atsu-Hime is cool, you know? She doesn’t piss me off like a certain previous Taiga Drama I saw before starring some singer who happens to sing the closing theme of Osen. *cough cough* Anyway~~ I know I may be girly for saying this, but I really liked the drama for the Aoi Miyazaki (Okatsu, Atsu-Hime, Midai-sama? and Tenshoin-sama) and Eita (Naogoro, Tatewaki… and does he change his name more??) Yeah, all those names…. but I always really looked forward to their scenes together, which almost always make me cry~~~ hence the title. I’ve been sad for Atsu-Hime alone… you know, like when that thing with Kikumoto happened, and the thing with Ikushima. I’m just blaming Eita because I seem to always cry with anything he’s on. LOL – Let’s see… I’ve cried in Last Friends (with that Eita and Juri scene in the park), and I’ve cried with Memories of Matsuko… though, I don’t think that was because of Eita, but the whole “all characters singing the song, and the going up the stairs” gets me everytime with the “Okaeri”

    Hmm… well, I didn’t cry in Nodame, maybe cried with the laughing hard xD The fact is, he’s made me cry quite a bit on Atsu-Hime alone… you know that friends-turned-lovers thing, and then with the in-love-but-afar-and-never-to-see-you-again thing? UGH, all of that with the combination of Aoi Miyazaki and Eita’s acting. I’m telling you, it will get you. And it’s not the love thing either, because they both were on that film Sukida, which I thought was boring as boring can be~~~ It’s the whole political thing, and all the other people and fate that are keeping them apart that kills me. And if the preview from last week is any indication, I think I will be crying quite a bit this one last time. xD

    Epic love. Something a certain someone who didn’t make Harmony happen couldn’t achieve. LOL’

  • Golden Globes Nominations Are In

    2008-2009

    Where is the Milk LUV? And The Dark Knight LUV? I truly thought that Milk would score a Best Picture Drama, and some other awards…

    Is the GG people who nominate a little… mo’phobe? Just saying… isn’t GG aired in ABC? Anyway, there is definitely more ‘conservative’ choosing of films in this one… at least in the drama category.

    Click here for the complete of nominees, which include:

    The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Revolutionary Road, Slumdog Millionaire, Vicky Cristina Barcelona… in the film categories. And~~~ 30 Rock, Dexter, House, Weeds in the TV categories…

    And a nomination for Catherine Keener for Best Actress in a Mini-Series or Made-for-TV Film, in the film An American Crime (which she starred with Ellen Page!) and totally FREAKED me out.

    I just find it a bit odd that Critics’ Choice Awards have been pretty much different to these nominees… MORE NOMINATIONS and WINNERS in the following weeks~~~

    And how is it that Waltz with Bashir gets a Best Foreign nod, and not a Best Animated Feature? Waltz with Bashir > Bolt or Kung Fu Panda.

  • November Month of Films, and Some December?

    Hmm… I feel I have been kinda crappy at watching movies like last time. But not AS bad as last time.

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  • Awards Here and There and Everywhere…

    Well… during the past week, every time I’d wake up, there’d be another award nomination announced. Beginning of last week, it began with the Spirit Awards, then Grammy nominations…

    Then there’s the interminable Top10 Films list around… then there was the National Board of Review’s announcement~ They named Slumdog Millionaire as best film, and included Let the Right One In as one of the Top5 Foreign Films…

    Apparently the Satellite Awards nominees were announced on Nov30 –

    Today, the Critics’ Choice Nominations were in – There’s a lot of love for Milk, and Benjamin Button… which will probably lead through award season, including Academy Awards. There’s also a lot of love for Anne Hathaway, who will possibly include an Oscar nod for Best Actress. Love for Meryl Streep in Doubt, as well… but apprently no love for Kate Winslet, who was a favorite of many award sites throughout the year as Best Actress for Revolutionary Road, but no love for the film in any of the previously mentioned awards.

    There is also love for Let the Right One In, that appears in various lists as either Top Foreign Film, or Top Films of the Year…. I must get the DVD as soon as it’s out.

  • Karate Kid – Films that Changed your Life Forever

    It’s been a LONG time since my last talk about films that marked my life, and after much thinking and procrastination I thought Karate Kid should be next. Why?

    Karate Kid Amy

    So simple! LOL’ I was a huge HUGE fan of Karate Kid, but the best part of the film for me wasn’t Daniel-san, even though I did the “Crane Kick” many times playing in the garden and in my room… no, the best part of Karate Kid was Mr. Miyagi.

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  • Spirit Awards 2009 Nominations are In!

    Sorry for the delay…

    Rachel Getting Married, and Frozen River lead with 6 nods each, including Best Feature, Best Director, Best First Screenplay, and Best Female Lead for Anne Hathaway and Melissa Leo respectively. I’ve heard only good things about Melissa Leo on Frozen River, will she be the Oscar winner next year?? I’ve yet to see both films…

    Also nominated… Turn the River and Savage Grace, which I’ve seen. And… The Visitor, Synecdoche New York, Sangre de mi Sangre, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Milk and Towelhead. For the full list, go here.

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – HURA GARU – Hula Girls

    This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).

    This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD

    Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…

    A little about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
    Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
    Duration: 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • What to Watch this December…

    So coming month… what to watch?? Forgive if times are funky, blame the cable mag for that…

    Yu Aoi will be on cable this month!!! With a showing of Hana & Alice, as well as Hula Girls!!!

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  • Dango San Kyou Dai

    When I watched Memories of Matsuko, there was one scene when Matsuko’s life was already going to the gutters, she was lying on the garbage bags, and she was watching TV. I immediately recognized the song as an Okaasan to Issho song… today I decided to look for it, and found it!

    Okaasan to Issho 1999 song, at first I thought it was a Takoyaki Mambo song, but I was lucky enough to find it on a website listing all the songs. Video and Romaji after the break!
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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Nanako to Nanao – TV Movie

    I was gonna apologize for not getting the time to write a new review, luckily I found that this reviewed followed next. Yay! xD

    Nanako to Nanao – Ane to Otouto ni Nareru Hi

    I have no idea where to put this since it’s not a film, but it’s also not a series. Sure it is, for some reason, labeled as a TV show or series… but no. It’s a TV movie, people. What is the difference between a film/movie and a TV movie, you say? Well, first it’s medium… then it’s budget and resources. In the end, you can almost always tell the difference between one and the other.

    What’s this TV movie about?
    Well… let’s see~ It’s a 2004 NHK Made-for-TV-Film about a high school girl named Nanako (Yu Aoi), who is often labeled as weird and anti-social due to trust issues with people caused by the betrayal she feels her dad committed. Seven years after his death, Nanako is thrown into the unusual situation to cohabit with her half-brother, Nanao (Yuri Chinen).

    Genre: Drama… kinda cute, but drama.
    Starring: Yu Aoi, Yuri Chinen
    Duration: 1:15hr

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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