I just spent nearly 2hrs. posting this somewhere else, and I still need to email everyone. LOL
Without further ado,
Category: Moving Media
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Almost YAM – YAMMIES or YAMMERS. Plus! Music!!
Hi, guys!
YAM011 is almost done. The Lima Film Fest ends tonight, so I’ll be closing the issue — hopefully on time, for a release on the 15th at 00.00hr. My timezone, not yours. GMT -5, FYI.
While I was writing the editor’s note — and addressing everyone on the Facebook group — I wondered what to call YAM readers. I thought YAMMIES would be nice, but then the Urban Dictionary told me those are tits/knockers. But then again, Penn & Teller said that pretty much any noun in plural can mean knockers. LOL Watermelons, lemons, air bags. There you go, wouldn’t be much of a difference.
So… then I thought about YAMMERS, but that can’t be good, right? So maybe YAMMIES is fine. Sounds a bit like “jammies” because you know… I’m a Spanish speaker. To me, the sound of a Y with a vowel, and the sound of a J with a vowel is the same. When I first moved to Canada, Yellow and Jello were the same to me. Well, I still can’t get it right. Frak.
Anyway, it’s getting late. I just wanted to post the streams to some of the albums we are reviewing and rating in the new edition of YAM. Not all, but most of them~ Thank you, Xiami ;P
- Julieta Venegas – Otra Cosa
- The Dirty Projectors + Bjork – Mount Wittenberg Orca
which you can buy here. I did.
all proceedings go to the National Geographic Society Oceans Initiative. - Arcade Fire – The Suburbs
- Lee-hom Wang – 18 Martial Arts
- Jing Chang (Zhang Yunjing) – The Opposite Me*
- Macy Gray – The Sellout*
- Nick Chou – First Album*
* denotes that they have a written review.
Anyway, happy listening! Off to zzzz. Busy day today.
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More Garbo Fake Criterion
Yay! I’m done with the Garbo films that come on the TCM Garbo Signature Collection. On this batch there’s Queen Christina — my favorite just because of the line about being a bachelor xD — then there’s Anna Karenina, Camille and Ninotchka.
My favorite of this batch turned out to be Anna Karenina, even though it was the trickiest one to do. I wanted to use the train as the symbol of the film, but I couldn’t find a perfect train with the perfect smoke/steam. In the end, I ended up looking for smoke/steam alone… and I almost just use that by itself, but I thought it would look too much like the cover for Devil and the Flesh… so I made a composite image. LOL
I also sort of liked how Ninotchka turned out. It’s completely different to the other covers, except for the Criterion logo and titles, but like I told my friend JK when he asked why Anna Christie was the only one in color – besides whiskey not being whiskey without the color… Anna Christie was Garbo’s first Talkie, so to make it different in a “Garbo Talks” sort of way, there’s color. LOL, but you know… that may be total bull.
Same with Ninotchka – “Garbo Laughs” and so the cover is completely different to the others. It’s got more color, the titles and signature are in black. You can check the whole Fake Criterion set on Flickr.
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Jedi vs. Sith Lightsaber Battles for the 25th Empire Strikes Back Anniversary
It wasn’t blistering cold — I’d be lying — but it was windy. However, wind can NOT stop Jedis and Sith Lords fighting to defend the Force. The Force weren’t with them, so some little kid ended up hitting one of them on the head. Phunny.
And then I went for Waffles. xD
Hmm… Waffles.
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Remembering P!nk – There You Go
I’m pretty sure I discovered Pink on one of the non-subtitled broadcasts of some Music Award they used to aired back in the day on Fox or something. That same year or maybe the next (?), in 2001, I went to Los Angeles to spend my 15th bday there… and then head off to San Francisco to visit family.
On that trip? I remember Popular was airing the few of their lasts episodes on The WB. Which episode? I remember it clearly… I have one of those memories. The News of my Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.
On my stay in LA? I almost pissed myself because I was in LA the day of the Grammy awards. Two Spanish girls that were on the tour bus with us were attending… I watched from the hotel, of course, but I remember seeing all the limos arriving. I was over the moon, because you know me… I get celebrity-giddy really easy… and I was 15.
I saw the Grammy broadcast, and saw Faith Hill performing Breathe. Wow. Guess what I ended up getting when I got to SF, and told my parents I wanted to get some CDs? xD A broad variety, because you know me… I’m not genre specific, if I like it, I like it and that’s it. So I ended up getting Pink’s debut Can’t Take Me Home, Faith Hill’s Breathe, and Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP.
I still own those CDs — it’s rare I would decide to throw them out — and even though I only own one or two more albums by Faith Hill and Eminem, I can proudly tell you that I have bought every Pink album that’s been released.
So here’s to There You Go, and the Pink hair that started it all!
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Lee Hom Wang – All the Things You Never Knew MV
This is the theme for Leehom Wang’s directorial debut Love in Disguise, premiering August Thursday 12th, right on time for the debut of his new album 18 Martial Arts… which I am already pre-ordering (plus, re-packaged Jing Chang’s album xD and other stuff from YesAsia… thankyouverymuch).
I feel the MV spoils the film though, but that’s just me. The song’s good, though.
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Hmm… I’m a little behind on stuff
Again.
I actually think I’m short of 2 reviews…
I wanted to watch some of the Peruvian films playing at the Lima Film Fest, but 8pm is a horrible time. I hate going to the cinema at 8pm… it’s just so full of people. That was Octubre last night, instead I saw The Art of the Steal… and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Time well spent? I’m not sure about Wimpy Kid, but at least I avoided 8pm rush hour.
Contracorriente (Undertow) plays tomorrow… at 8pm. I might try to catch that, but again. Why 8pm?
Instead, I caught my 2nd viewing for Inception today. I was surprised to catch myself yawing a couple of times. I have made up my mind about it. It’s still a good movie, but this time I can officially tell you that I liked Joseph Gordon Levitt and Marion Cotillard scenes the best.
I need to keep up with my music reviews.
While formatting my aunt’s computer. That’s a bonus. I hate Vista.
I also need to format mine. The audio and video are playing… funny.
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Jing Chang featuring Lollipop’s AoQuan – Loyalty
5th single already? If you paid attention, I posted Jing Chang’s 4th single just a week ago.
Otherwise known as 義氣 (Yi Qi), referring to the spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice. Aiya They Didn’t is reporting Jing Chang will be releasing a re-packaged album by the end of the week (Aug. 13th), which will include:
- 6 music videos [4 singles + Loyalty + 不再聯絡 (Bu Zai Lian Luo) – Lose Contact]
- a Loyalty commemoration poster
- a Mending card [is this Hao Le?]
- and a birthday party invitation (????) xD
Not sure why this is a 5th single, since it’s not included in the copy I’ve listened of The Opposite Me, but it’s kind of a nice rock/dance song. Kinda weird… but I could dig.
I’m considering purchasing this re-packaged album. Seems like a good deal.
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Greta Garbo Fake Criterion Collection
Just started a Greta Garbo Fake Criterion Collection, from the TCM Garbo Signature set. The only one I’m choosing not to do is Grand Hotel… and of course, the TCM archives. So I’m only missing Queen Christina, Anna Karenina, Camille and Ninotchka. ;P
My favorite fake cover… is between The Mysterious Lady and Flesh and the Devil.
In this one, I like the flame… which you know, I picked from the classic scene where they are lighting their cigarettes and the shot gets so awesome with the light. Of course, I couldn’t find a lighter, so decided to just use the flame. And in it, you can see a bit of that scene if you squint enough.
Plus, Flesh and Devil sounds so sinful and all about kinky passion. LOL Fire, right? xD
And The Mysterious Lady plays the whole spy thing. I’m not even sure if the gun fits the movie, it just looked like it did… it wasn’t too “period-like” and it wasn’t a modern shotgun.
It just didn’t feel right to use Greta Garbo and/or the movie stills. It seemed kind of… dull. That’s why I’m kind of disappointed on my version for Mata Hari. I couldn’t find a still of just the head piece, and I didn’t want to use Garbo’s face — as striking as it was — and I was about to use just the ring, but I guess it’s not really that striking.
And of course, Anna Christie plays on the whole “Gimme a whiskey!” line. After all, Garbo Talks! LOL
You can check the rest of the set here.
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Lima Film Festival: La Casa Muda
La Casa Muda (2010) – aka. The Silent House
Genre: Horror, Suspense
Directed by: Gustavo HernandezThe Silent House tells the story of Laura, a young woman, and her father who decide to install themselves in their country house to fix it for sale the next day. At night time, Laura hears noises, so her father decides to check it out without ever returning.
The film, directed by Gustavo Hernandez, is supposed to be based on a true story from the 40s — I can’t tell for sure, though. The Silent House is very stylish, with prime photography, and nice sound design. The acting is fine, and it all should make a pretty good film, except it isn’t that great. Sure, the film is supposed to be a horror suspense, and it is in the beginning, but it gets boring 30 minutes into the film with repetitive running around, and cheap thrills without moving the plot… or lack thereof.
In the end, there’s a big reveal… of sorts, which isn’t that surprising. However, the lack of plot is just too much for a one 78-min-long shot — was it really one shot? It seemed like a DV camera, so it’s possible. Like I said, The Silent House looks really REALLY good, but that’s it.
2.5/5
COMPETENCIA OFICIAL – FICCION
Screenings:
Monday 9 – 8pm – Cineplanet San Miguel – Sala 1
Tuesday 10 – 5.15pm – Cineplanet Alcázar – Sala 1
Wednesday 11 – 3pm – Cineplanet Alcázar – Sala 5
Thursday 12 – 8.30pm – Cineplanet Risso
Saturday 13 – 8pm – Centro Cultural Católica – Sala Azul