I found a review of Yoji Yamada’s Otouto, which will be closing the Berlinale this 21st – hopefully Yoji Yamada and the cast can be there. The review has possible spoilers~~~
So you’ve been warned!
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From the The Mainichi Daily News
by Tomomi Katsuta
Happy Chinese New Year!
Yes, it’s your favorite movie to hate. LOL
We’ve got a very cool issue this month, but I’m not gonna ramble what’s in it.
Just head over here to download it and read it.
Did you watch the Vancouver Olympics Opening? Sadly, Peru… especifically America Television, even though they’ve got the rights, they’ve only done a 1hr cap of the whole opening. So I ended up watching on ESPN, which wasn’t much better. One, it’s fullscreen instead of wide. Plus, the guys couldn’t shut up on the first part of the show.
I will post cool photos if I find them.
The show was nice. Living in Vancouver, I did get a bit emotional, but not as emotional as I got on Beijing 2008. However, Vancouver did a pretty great show, even though there were some things people point out.
One thing I hated was Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams and the song. It was cheese, I can take cheese but not at the almost beginning of the show. They should have closed the show instead.
Sarah McLachlan was pretty great vocally, as was KD Lang… but does KD Lang need to sing that song again? She does it perfect, but isn’t there another song? Oh yeah, what’s up with the pop-version of the Canada anthem? It just felt not very patriotic, in my opinion.
What I loved the most? The digital displays, beginning with the ice cracking, the killer whales swimming — skipping the yellow fields and the flying dude — and continuing with the punk rock celtic tappers. Because they were punk rock, right? They had tattoos, mohawks, dark eyeliner, leather, jeans and Converse Chuck Taylor Low-Top… and they had plaid fabrics, and they were playing celtic music. I’m pretty sure they did a bit of Riverdance too… plus the tap dancing. With the red maple leaves digital display. It was my favorite.
Check back later in the day. In the meantime, check out the Vancouver2010 website.
I’m still trying to watch The Last Station, Crazy Heart and A Single Man just so I can get done with voting for the Indie Spirit Awards, so crossing fingers that I get to watch those before the deadline…
It feels like I saw a lot of stuff these days, but the quantity might not be as much because I also saw a lot of TV shows, which would explain why I feel like I’ve seen a lot…
Two days ago I received my last batch of Spirit Awards screeners… which I’m almost done watching because my internet connection has been failing, so I took that time to watch some of those films, and catch up on my reading~
Anyway, I’m used to receiving screeners on white paper disc cases. They’re economic, and just easier to get and use… they don’t take extra space, and they’re easy to mail.
Obviously, a big company like Lionsgate can take it to the next level, and send their own (simple, but kinda pretty) screener for Precious. It’s all white, with the company’s name, film’s name and a “Consider This” title glossy embossed finish. Plus, they list all the categories they would like to be considered for.
The only problem I found with the Precious screener is that it doesn’t play on my bedroom’s DVD player. It does play in my computer, and in my older DVD player. I have no idea why. Over the nearly 300 DVDs I own, only 4 or 5 don’t play on my player.
The other 5 DVD screeners are for Amreeka, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, The Messenger, The Vicious Kind, and Easier with Practice — all which came on paper cases. The latter two are the only ones that list their Spirit Awards nominations, so we can actually keep an eye for them when we watch them.
In the end, how important are screeners packaging for a film? After all, isn’t it supposed to be all about the film? Yes, it should be about the film, its characters, and its story. However, it would be nice to know what we should be looking out for… be it with some small text on the DVD, or an extra paper insert, or an extra DVD screen menu with the info. It doesn’t have to be as fancy as the Lionsgate.
Let’s see… just saw New York, I Love You.
as far as my expectations, I was disappointed… I did like two of the shorts. I was entertained by Brett Ratner’s segment (Olivia Thirlby and Anton Yelchin), but my favorite has to be Joshua Marston’s segment with Cloris Leachman.
Natalie Portman’s segment was okay… but her acting segment was kind of weak — plus, the bald cap she used (coz that was a bald cap, right?) bothered me a little because we know how her shaved head looks like.
Because I wanted to see something new by Shunji Iwai, I had high expectations and was let down. Nothing really wrong with it. Christina Ricci is okay, and I guess Orlando Bloom is okay… but did it have to be him?
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I also got my screener for Precious, which I have seen already… but it’s nice to get to watch it on my DVD player. I’m getting ready to vote for Independet Spirit Awards ^^ Second time around!
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Amazon hasn’t published my DVD Review of Linda Linda… why is that? It was a perfectly fine constructive critic that would have made Linda Linda a better release. If they don’t publish it this week, I will publish it here.
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I’m almost done re-watching Pushing Daisies…
These are my last DVD buys:
I saw it yesterday in the morning, and I was very surprise to actually find out it was going to get release here. I was already getting used to the idea of watching it on DVD or cable.
Happy Belated Xmas, Amy!
it’s here, it’s here!
After ages on my Amazon Wishlist, my dad made it happen. *laughs*
Two months worth of films to close the year,
let’s hope 2010 brings loads of good ones…
When the first Avatar trailer went up, I asked myself what was that rubbish. Yes, it looked that bad to me. However, I must admit that seeing it on 3D was an experience very close to that of The Terminator show at Universal… after all, both are James Cameron.
This is the first time that I’ve felt that a 3D projection does justice to its 3D medium, and doesn’t just make objects pop out of the screen just because it can. Instead, Avatar pulls you in – in some scenes more than others – and lets you become almost part of it. There’s a scene in particular, in which the antagonist (Colonel Quaritch, played by Stephen Lang) looks through the rear-view mirror and sees himself. The way it was shot makes it seem like WE are there until Quaritch’s reflection hits us back. Is Cameron telling us something?
