Archives For Moving Media

Shunji Iwai and Yu Aoi Back Together on Vampire Flick?

March 22, 2010 — 19 Comments

I just got a sudden adrenaline rush.

Not only Shunji Iwai and Yu Aoi together…

ON A VAMPIRE FLICK… in an English-language project.

SHOT IN VANCOUVER?

I’ll let Kevin from Nippon Cinema explain as I SPAZZ some more.

After spending the past few years screenwriting and producing, filmmaker Shunji Iwai (All About Lily Chou-Chou, Hana and Alice) is returning to the director’s chair for a yet-untitled English-language vampire drama to begin shooting in Vancouver this May. Currently, the only plot info available is that the story will involve a seemingly average young man who secretly craves blood and seeks out suicidal women on the internet. However, the women need to fall in love with him before he’s able to get the full pleasure of sucking the life out of them (yep, sounds like internet dating all right). Actresses Amanda Plummer and Yu Aoi are signed on as cast members.

FYI, Amanda Plummer played opposite Sarah Polley on Isabel Coixet’s My Life Without Me.

I am conflicted, Vancouver is Lainey’s territory… should we pimp Yu to Lainey and let her fall in love with her, so she posts about Yu papz while in town? LOL, though Yu in Vancouver is like… another Japanese girl. I probably would have had a heart attack if I had still been living in Vancouver.

Okay, this means I really REALLY need to finish my If Only.

Please, sweet baby geezus let this film be my dream project. LOL

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How to Train your Dragon is Still a Thrill~

March 22, 2010 — 1 Comment

After so many years of watching animated films, it feels like Dreamworks has found their winning formula of cheap thrills and decent box office numbers, and they’re sticking with it. Time and time again, they put out a piece with similar jokes, running gags, and uninspiring character design with little heart.

Continue Reading…

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If Only… Tokyo Trash Baby

March 20, 2010 — 8 Comments

This is Acerk’s last (and best) pick for Yu Aoi wishful thinking films. And I really did my best to stretch these picks as much as I could just to see if other fans would contribute their own.

There’s still time people!

1. Tokyo Trash Baby

Continue Reading…

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Fandom Crossover: Nodame Cantabile + Yu Aoi

March 18, 2010 — 7 Comments

I haven’t read the Nodame manga series, but I sure am waiting for the last two movies, because I loved the live action adaptation. Also, Juri Ueno is the perfect Nodame!

Anyway, I’ll let Kawaii Joyuu do the explaining~

Actress Aoi Yu (24) or at least her voice is going to appear in the second “Nodame Cantabile” movie that is opening soon. They announced today that she is going to dub the young Hungarian woman Jadwi. Jadwi’s actual name is Jadwiga, meaning “mysterious sleeping beauty” and is a popular character in the original manga. She becomes a close friend of Nodame (Ueno Juri) and therefore one of the key characters in the second movie. Both of them meet at the music school they attend in Paris. Jadwi can play the theremin, the first ever electronic music instrument in the world. Her unique character and unique instrument eventually helps Nodame enjoying music again, after she got separated from her beloved piano.

Jadwi has a very fluffy personality. Aoi actually would be the perfect actress for the role, even Ueno already noticed that. “She has a fairy-like, very mysterious aura surrounding her, almost like Aoi Yuu,” she said. There were plans to transform Aoi into a foreign girl with the help of make-up, but who knows how that would look like in the end. Now they have a French actress playing that role and Aoi dubbing her in Japanese. “There would be no better person for this,” Ueno commented after hearing that Aoi got confirmed for the voice cast.

I have often talked about Yu’s voice acting, and her different voices. She’s got her regular voice lower and sort of as-a-matter-of-fact, and then there’s also her sponsoring voice which is high and chirpy. But she’s also done a lot of cute voice, and you also know I prefer Yu when she’s not cute… even though I can’t deny that she’s cute, and that makes you smile nonetheless. This is why Juri’s remarks on Yu’s fairy-like qualities is fascinating.

Anyway, for those Yu Aoi fans that have not seen Nodame Cantabile – it’s just a blast. I mean, the first couple of episodes are something to get used to for the wacky and over-the-top qualities [mind you, I had just gotten into J-entertainment back then], but once you get into it, it’s so SO funny. Part of the funny behind the casting of Yu as the dubbing for a Hungarian character is hilariously and bluntly pointed out on the first Nodame Europe Special.

Now there’s more reason to watch Nodame Cantabile Movie 2! xD

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Watch 6 Cannes Films for FREE!

March 16, 2010 — Leave a comment

I’m just gonna re-post what I wrote on Facebook xD

WOAHHHH, Stella Artois and The Auteurs are letting us watch 6 films for free. What’s better? They are 6 GREAT FILMS. Doesn’t get much better than that.

– Polanski’s Repulsion this has been changed for
– Walkabout
– Russian Ark
– Lars Von Trier’s Europa
– Hirokazu Koreeda’s Daremo Shiranai (Nobody Knows)
– Tropical Malady
– Hou Hsiao-hsien’s Three Times this has been changed for
– Faust

Just head over there, login and watch.

And remember… if you snooze, you lose.
I’d better watch Tropical Malady before it’s gone like Three Times. xD

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Dear Viz Media: I Love You, but…

March 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

You guys really REALLY need to work on what you call “Special Features”. It’s been a long time coming, but the review I sent to Amazon.com of Linda Linda Linda never showed up, even though I was reviewing the material in the DVD and even making suggestions… so it was a valid write-up.

Last time I bought something in Amazon.com, my order included a copy for the Viz Media release for Tetsuya Nakashima’s Kamikaze Girls (Shimotsuma Monogatari) and Linda Linda Linda by Nobuhiro Yamashita.

Where to start?

Continue Reading…

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Just started this.

My Fake Criterion Collection

Posted on March 14, 2010 In DVD/BR, English, Films, Fun, Graphics, Japanese, Sharing , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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The Age of Amateur Cinema Will Return

March 13, 2010 — Leave a comment

DGenerateFilms has translated an essay by director Jia Zhangke with some interesting ideas, as well as some others that I don’t particularly agree with… but maybe it’s one of those things lost in translation.

In a few years, young people throughout Asia will probably sing the same song, be attracted to the same clothes; girls will wear the same makeup and carry the same handbag. What kind of world is this turning into? It is precisely in this cultural environment that only independent films that remain committed to the depiction of local culture can provide some cultural diversity.

That’s an interesting statement, considering I have been talking about the exact opposite. I often talk how there will never be a “definite” 2000’s or 10-19’s list like we had in the 90s, because the internet has opened this gate with floods of information regarding anything… including music, films and overall entertainment. You don’t need to listen to what the record companies send to the radios, or watch what networks believe to be quality television or pay for a movie a distributor thinks you should be watching.

What the essay seems to be referring to is the vapid teenage kids who won’t bother researching and finding out about something that won’t be fed through distributors. I mean, you can’t even rely on what MySpace suggests any longer. LOL

Also… Amateur Cinema? With all the technology and all the quality cinematographers out there, even the most low-budget film can look okay. I’m sorry, but an image alone can speak a thousand words. That’s all I’m saying. I may be a “production value” girl, and I can appreciate costume, and art direction, but I also always give more importance to storyline and overall mood of the film. It shouldn’t matter if it’s “amateur” or a big-budget production.

Don’t give me Amateur Cinema, give me quality Independent Cinema.

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Kokuhaku – Confession Trailer

The film is based on an award-winning novel written by rookie author and housewife Kanae Minato. Actress Takako Matsu (K-20, Villon’s Wife) plays a dedicated teacher at a junior high school who’s young daughter is found brutally murdered. Believing two of her own students are responsible, she decides to leave the school, but not before a final chilling confession to her class in which she informs them that she’s already enacted her plan for vengeance.

Watch the trailer via Nippon Cinema.

Posted on March 13, 2010 In Books, English, Films, Japanese, Sharing, Stills, Trailers , ,
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Awards Daily’s Most Promising of 2010

March 12, 2010 — 2 Comments

Awards Daily’s poll is currently going on.

I’m giddy to find out my Top 4 films of 2010 are in the Top10 xD though that could change. Of course, I’m giddy about Inception… why? Nolan + DiCaprio + Marion Cotillard + Ellen Page + Ken Watanabe + Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Hi, there. I’m already there.

Black Swan? Aronofsky + Natalie Portman? I’m sold with that.

The Kids Are All Right? Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo and Mia Wasikowska?

Blue Valentine? Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams~ Are you kidding?

You can vote for your fave here.

The other films I’m looking forward this 2010?

Hesher, Rabbit Hole, The Killer Inside Me, Norwegian Wood, and Contracorriente (Undertow).

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