Archives For Moving Media

Yu-chan’s been busy! Or it’s actually been busy for us…

REDLINE opened in Japan, as well as some dates in San Francisco – jealous! There was also the re-run of last-last week’s episode of Ryomaden on Friday night. On Saturday, there was a re-run of Hana & Alice on i-Sat. Plus, Yu-chan’s also been in Korea for the Pusan Film Festival to promote Raiou!

G-Dragon must be there stalking. He really should visit the site and comment, we could really be friends.

Anyway! As you know, Yu-chan’s pretty popular in Korea. Hana & Alice opened there as well, and even her film Letters from Nirai Kanai (with no subs yet) was released there under the name “Aoi Yu’s Letters” Snap!

Yu-chan looks so pretty xD

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Whenever I think about Joseph Kahn, I… well, now I think about stupid Torque, while my friend complained that he paid to watch the film and fell asleep. Yup, Torque’s one of those film I try to block for the sake of the Kahn – because the Kahn is a pretty kick-ass music video director.

Before I ever EVER turned into the teenage girl that knew (and still knows) the lyrics to the Backstreet Boys songs, and before the Kahn blew me away with Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) — which remains my dad’s fave BSB song and  video. MY DAD who rocks xD — before all of that, I was blown away by Brandy and Monica’s The Boy is Mine. Not because I knew the lyrics… I didn’t. I didn’t know English then~ I just looked at them and doing the sing-off which I didn’t understand, and watched the clips of the video on Frecuencia Latina’s Ayer y Hoy. I found it fascinating.

Of course, then I got cable… and I got MTV, and I became a BSB fan and learned English. And Everybody (Backstreet’s Back) is a bloody good pop music video. Of course it’s got tinges of Michael Jackson, that’s why it’s so good. Mind you, Nick’s mummy , Brian’s werewolf, Howie’s vamp and AJ’s Phantom are kinda lame, but Kevin’s Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde more than make up for anything. And that group sync dance, ahh… they don’t make them like that no more.

Watch the HD version (only US), or the regular version.

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Not like I’m any taller, but if Radcliffe were taller, he’d be hotter.
His high-contrast Harry Potter stubble is totally quiveration. LOL

The posters don’t seem like regular character posters, though. More like teaser character posters, even if it seems late to be releasing teasers now~~~ I can’t remember if the WB has ever released teaser character posters.

Is this being referred as HP 7 Part 1, instead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1? Maybe it was a typographical decision more than a branding one?

More posters over at MovieMobsters!

Okay, I feel kind of lame saying this but the most quotable Glee quote this week was the title of the episode. I don’t want to say that I didn’t enjoy the episode, I felt it was more like the back-9 that people didn’t seem to like, but I did.

I feel like I’m gonna begin saying things like “Cheesus Christ!” or “You’re scaring the be-cheesus out of me.”

Do I need to use the quotes format?
Grilled Cheesus!

I wish I had known sooner, but I just found out today.

REDLINE will be opening in San Francisco this Friday 8th at 7.15pm at VIZ Cinema – at the same time as in Japan! And will continue showing the film throughout the week. I already added them to the Yu Aoi Events calendar.

Friday 8th – 7.15pm
Saturday 9th, Sunday 10th – 12.30pm , 2.45pm , 5pm , 7.15pm
Monday 11th – Thursday 14th – 5pm , 7.15pm

Admission is $10

If you catch the show, let me know. Would love to hear your thoughts.

A little about moi

October 1, 2010 — 8 Comments

Other than not having anything to post, I thought I could write a little about me (maybe add an “about page”) – who knows… I mean, other than having the seldom post with an anecdote related to the post, what do most people who visit know about me other than the fact that I like to post about Yu Aoi, I post weekly on Glee, what I watch or what I listen to.

What about me?

My favorite genre is tear-jerking dramas… of the art house foreign kind. The more I cry, the more I feel satisfied with a film. For two hours of my life – or how many films or shows I get to watch in a day – I like high-tension dramas that will get my heart beating faster, and feel so much pain for the characters. I often like to put myself in the position of the main character, and pretend I can be them — making me cry even more. So as I grow older, the movies I tend to watch have less to do with the younger crowd. LOL Sometimes I think I could be an actress. LOL

Anyway, in real life? I’m the complete opposite. I like my life tension-free. I hate drama, and I live a simple life enjoying art and eating. I avoid high-tension situations, I avoid big crowds, and avoid meeting too many people at once. I prefer a dinner for two on a weekend at home with a good film to watch, than partying in a room full of people I see less than twice a year.

So while I love super dramatic dramas xD my life is more like an artsy fartsy film in which nothing happens. xD

In my life, a lot of people speak Spanish… then someone mixes in Cantonese. We also speak English… and sometimes… only sometimes, we end up a bit snobbish with some French. See, very artsy fartsy.

Symphony of Lights, Hong Kong

My home life was very much like some quirky Asian film – queue Hong Kong film – maybe a reason why I have a soft spot for them despite some of their lacking points. My grandfather was a character, out of World War II, telling me how in China he was relatives with someone of Royal blood. LOL I never really believed THAT but it’s one of those things that’s funny to remember.

I have a weak heart for films that deal with Alzheimer disease – I literally spent half of Away from Her crying every time she didn’t remember a thing. And I cried my heart out watching Ken Watanabe on Memories of Tomorrow struggling with living with the disease as he begun forgetting his own wife. Another reason why The Notebook affected me as it did… LOL

I also have a soft spot for Family dramas… less prominent in America or Europe, but oh so popular in Asia. I wonder why? LOL Asian and Latin Americans are similar that way. Despite all the arguments I may have with my family — not only parents, but extended family as well… uncles, aunts, cousins~~~ we poke fun at each other in good spirits. We actually do love each other.

wyk4p-2-c318

In light entertainment? I literally haven’t enjoyed a silly comedy since I saw Zoolander at the cinemas, though The Sweetest Thing is a good one. My humor tends to be either silly — as in Asian gag-related — or really bizarre… which I only use with members of my family, because we all get each other. That’s political humor, religious humor, race humor… and so on. We sometimes poke fun of dead people on the news LOL

I love musicals – sometimes I think I’m a gay man trapped in a little girl’s body? LOL – I love hipster films, I like romantic comedies… but I tend to avoid Jennifer Aniston. I like animation (can you imagine how much I enjoyed Happy Feet? LOL), and I think female comedians are funnier than male ones. Romantic comedy Dan in Real Life with gorgeous Juliette Binoche… and a surprisingly good Steve Carell (and zing! Emily Blunt) was great… except for the annoying experience to see Dane Cook on screen. I despise Cook. It’s something I can’t explain. xD

It’s time to work on the 2010 edition of the Experiment Awards – working title… anyone have another suggestion? Was thinking of The YAMmy Awards or The YAMmers xD Anyway, for those of you who didn’t vote last year or weren’t reading the site last year, The Experiment Awards is OUR awards. We watch the films, and nominate them.

The only thing you need to do? Watch over 48 films dated 2010 on IMDb. We still haven’t figure out what to do with films late in the year… well, tough luck.

My count? I’m 41 films dated 2010 on IMDb, so I’m almost there~

Anyone’s invited to participate, the detailed rules are here (includes nomination dates and deadlines).

And I made banners of my fave films watched until now!

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Some very exciting news – First, it seems I’ve seen more than TWO of the Foreign submissions this year LOL. Of course that’s without considering the 9 films that will go through the other stage, and the 5 that will be chosen. I’ll probably get a 1/5 ratio at the most.

Second of all… China chose Xiaogang Feng’s earthquake drama Aftershocks to represent them. *jumpy claps* Now, this is my weakness. I love tear-jerking dramas. Anyone who’s lived through an earthquake should and will be affected by the story, anyone who’s lived through a hurricane, typhoon, any catastrophic natural disaster. Aftershocks is for you. But this is not to say that Aftershocks is exploitative of the tragedy, because this “earthquake” film is little about the earthquake and all about the people affected by it.

Considering the technical achievement this is, and how human and audience-friendly this drama is, I think this might have high chances of passing to the “chosen 9”. *crosses fingers*

Here are some of the submissions I’ve seen and reviewed:

The updated titles via Indie Wire!

Didn’t love the Britney episode. Heather Morris can dance, but not dance and sing. My fears were confirmed – Brittany’s on-liner awesomeness is too much to handle on one episode. I couldn’t even laugh that her name is Brittany S. Pearce. And despite her having a great performance on Slave 4 U — inlcuding VMA 2001’s Birmanian python, yup I watched a lot of Discovery Kids as a kid — I just didn’t care.

Actually, Brittany and DentistStamos was just… so awkward. LOL Same with Me Against the Music.

My fave of the night was Toxic at the assembly because it was the only song included in the storyline without drug-inducing the characters… and Artie’s Stronger – sound-wise – it was the most like the original song. But yay! Emma and Terry are back!

I didn’t find any particular quotable quote, but here’s the line that reminded me of the WB’s Popular with April Tuna, Emory Dick. I’m pretty sure Ryan Murphy is the only man on American television that’s constantly using the word “frottage” on national/international tv.

Becky: Hey, Coach! The Glee Club is doing Britney Spears for the assembly, I just found out.
Sue: Becky, you’re on Red Alert. If you see any awkward teenage frottage perform that citizen’s arrest we practice.

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Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, adaptation of the novel by Gabrielle Zevin of the same name, or Dareka ga Watashi ni KISU o Shita (literally translated to I Kissed Someone) is the Japanese adaptation of said American book starring popular Japanese actors/idols Horikita Maki as the lead Naomi Sukuse (in the book Naomi Porter) who falls down the stairs, hits her head and loses the memories she’s recollected for the past 4 years, including her best friend Mirai Hasegawa (in the book Will) played by idol Yuya Tegoshi from boy band NEWS, and her American boyfriend Ace Zuckerman played by Anton Yelchin.

Gasp! Say what? Americans and Japanese young actors together in a Japanese film of an American book? Yes, that’s right. Because Teenage Amnesiac also includes actor Kenichi Matsuyama (recently seen in Norwegian Wood), and none other than the young Emma Roberts. So yeah, the roles have inverted. And how do American fans of the book feel about their beloved book being made in Japanese? Well, a lot of them aren’t happy about it… or at least, they weren’t happy about it. Talks about how “pointless” it is to change the setting, or how not “into Japanese” they could be. Even though the one involved in the making of this was the book’s author herself, and it was probably done because the book was such a hit in the country.

Sure, it’s just internet talk. However, it reflects the sentiment of *insert nationality* whose film/books of their home country get remade/adapted in America/etc. not-a-language it’s supposed to be. So we do understand your sentiments, and here’s to hoping you guys understand when it happens the other way round again and again… and again.

As for the film… well, suffice to say that I feel too old to be watching this. Kenichi Matsuyama should feel too old for this too. Maybe if I were 10 years younger – OMG, I’m that old – I could have maybe connected more. No scratch that, I felt like the characters were Mary Sue’s or Marty Stus… or whatever the male form of a Mary Sue is. Surprisingly, in a bad way, Anton Yelchin is a bit of a jerk in here. He’s literally your typical American jock… only he plays tennis. LOL Poor Naomi’s lost her memory, and all he can think of is getting laid for Prom?

Naomi’s other suitors are the Martys Stus, one playing the best friend from the yearbook commission. Mirai is dorky, well-natured, cares for Naomi… and well, that’s just telling you straight in your face that he’s the one. Then there’s the dark brooding opponent Yuji (Matsuyama) who rides a motorbike, works at a projection house where he watches foreign art house films, photographs Naomi for a play, and actively pursues her as she ends her relationship with Yelchin’s character. Yuji is what you know it’s bad but you still want to see what’s going on with him. In a dark indie film, Naomi would have pursued Yuji and ended up badly. In a fairly mainstream drama, she’d pursued Yuji and ended up fixing him. This is a romantic drama for teenagers, so you’d do the math.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Horikita Maki in anything else, but she seems like an average lead in here. And Emma Roberts is terribly underused in this.

2.5/5

Also can you believe Yelchin is the youngest in the cast? Gosh these Asians genes. Wait till we turn 60~