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Mid-2015 Yu Aoi Short TEIKUSU~

July 11, 2015 — 3 Comments

I haven’t caught up with Dr. Rintaro since the first episode, but Yu-chan’s name has been going around on Twitter. Apparently — according to Twitter/Google/Bing translation — Yu is one of the actresses/actors who smoke. You know Japanese magazine rags, though, all text no images xD If anyone is shocked/surprised/following this, please do let me know. Otherwise, disregard. If Yu is, in fact, smoking… for years, hats off. Gurl, how do you keep yourself so young? Genes, I tell you, GENES!

In other news… The Case of Hana & Alice is (finally) coming out on DVD/BR disc in August.

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— å²©äº•ä¿ŠäºŒæ˜ ç”»ç¥ Iwai Shunji film festival (@iwaiff) July 7, 2015

There’s also news that Yu-chan will be voicing a character (I suppose the female robot) in an upcoming Disney Channel Lilo & Stitch SP. Complete with Yu & Stitch photo [picture][link].

lilo-stitch-disney-channel-sp-yu-aoi-002

… and finally~

In Celebrity, DVD/BR, English, Japanese, Sharing, Stills, Television actress, animation, chiaki kuriyama, disney, dvd, fandom, from the vault, japan, lilo & stitch, news, shunji iwai, yu aoi

The Show-Off Film Collection List~

Oh, Happy Chinese New Year! Let’s start my (supposedly) bad-luck Goat Year with the now-mandatory Letterboxd list of my film collection~

I have a really weird history with films– born in the late 80s, you’d think I would’ve grown watching loads of 90s kids stuff, but I actually grew up with a lot of Silly Symphonies (which were released in the 30s) and loads of Disney 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s stuff, plus a lot of more grown up 80s movies. Poltergeist, The Thing, The Fly and The Stuff were particularly scary stuff (and I’m pretty sure I was scared of yogurt or white stuff at some point).

I don’t ever remember buying any original VHS tape, except for the rare birthday gift of a Disney’s Sing-Along Songs chapter or that X-Men tape I have. My first DVDs buys were Coyote Ugly, She’s All That and Loser — you can’t blame me. I was a 15-year-old girl. The collection grew bigger, and possibly exploded during my years abroad. I’m nearing my 500th movie.

Posted on February 19, 2015 In Chinese, DVD/BR, English, Films, French, Japanese, Korean, Misc., Russian, Screencaps, Sharing, Spanish, Swedish 2d classical animation, 3d animation, adele, alfonso cuaron, amy adams, amy poehler, amy wong, ang lee, animation, anna kendrick, aoi miyazaki, audrey tautou, ayumi ito, bae doona, baz lurhman, ben affleck, bibi chow (zhou bichang), bjork, brad pitt, brendan fletcher, bruce lee, bryan fuller, canada, carly pope, cate blanchett, celtic woman, charlize theron, chiaki kuriyama, china, christian bale, christina aguilera, christina applegate, christopher nolan, chulpan khamatova, concert, contemporary classics, daniel radcliffe, danny boyle, darren aronofsky, david fincher, dead like me, diablo cody, disney, documentary/making-of, dr. horrible's sing-along blog, eason chan, eita, ellen degeneres, ellen page, emma watson, eric bana, eva green, evan rachel wood, ewan mcgregor, fandom, faye wong, firefly, france, gael garcia bernal, gong li, greta garbo, guillermo del toro, gwyneth paltrow, harry potter, hayao miyazaki, heath ledger, helena bonham carter, his dark materials, hugh jackman, independent, india, jake gyllenhaal, japan, javier bardem, jean pierre jeunet, jena malone, joan crawford, joe odagiri, joseph gordon-levitt, joss whedon, juhi chawla, julianne moore, juliette binoche, jurassic park, kate winslet, kenichi matsuyama, kore-eda, korea, kou shibasaki, kwai lun-mei, lars von trier, latin america, madhuri dixit, maggie cheung, maggie gyllenhaal, marion cotillard, martin scorsese, mary-louise parker, matt damon, mcdull, meryl streep, michael arias, michel gondry, michelle williams, mikako ichikawa, miki nakatani, movie classics, mtv, musical/choreography, naomi watts, natalie portman, neil patrick harris, nicole kidman, nobuhiro yamashita, olivia williams, performance, peru, philip pullman, pink, pixar, quentin tarantino, rachel weisz, rani mukerji, ranveer singh, rie miyazawa, roman polanski, russia, ryan gosling, ryo kase, salyu, sanjay leela bhansali, saoirse ronan, sarah michelle gellar, sarah polley, scarlett johansson, shahrukh khan, shakespeare, shinobu yaguchi, short film, shu qi, shunji iwai, silent films, spain, spike jonze, steve carell, studio ghibli, sweden, tabu (actress), taiwan, tetsuya nakashima, tim burton, toni collette, tony leung, ueno juri, vh1, vidya balan, vishal bhardwaj, wong kar-wai, yu aoi, zhang yimou, zhao wei (vicky zhao)

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Yu-chan for 8740 DIARY 2011-2014

Yu Aoi has a brand new book release simply titled 8740 DIARY 2011-2014, which is (from whatI was able to get) a collection of text and photos gathered between those years from different directors, screenwriters and co-stars. I am pretty sure there were texts from Shunji Iwai, Yuki Tanada and photographer Yoko Takahashi among many others.

The book is fairly priced… and the yen is down, so I think I might get it. We’ll see. In the meantime, Yu’s been promoting it with this cute little video for MORE Magazine, as well as the customary press event.

You can get the book on HMV Japan, which is my usual choice for Japanese items, even though YesAsia also delivers (but I find it extra pricey for them).

Posted on November 5, 2014 In Celebrity, Clips, English, Japanese, Sharing actress, cute, fandom, interview, japan, photobook, shunji iwai, yoko takahashi, yu aoi, yuki tanada

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Shunji Iwai and Yu Aoi Together Again for The Case of Hana & Alice

OMO~ OMG xD

According to the site formerly known as Nippon Cinema, Eigapedia, Shunji Iwai is working on an animated prequel of Hana & Alice, because- WHY NOT? It’s always good to have Yu Aoi back together with Iwai, despite the lack of Noboru Shinoda and Iwai’s uncertain background in animation. xD But I have a weakness for Yu Aoi voice-over acting. Both Aoi and Anne Suzuki were back in their respective roles, and apparently are done with their recording, telling us the story of how their friendship became what it was.

The production teased already with brief stills of the movie, and rough vignettes of the animated frames. The movie is set to open some time in February next year.

User Plano Piloto has translated the audio and on-screen text:

Hana: By the way, what’s your name?
Alice: Arisugawa Tetsuko
[Alice, the most powerful transfer student in history.]
Hana: I am-
Alice: Arai Hana-san.
[Hana, the most powerful hikikomori in history.]
Hana: Why do you ask knowing it?
Alice: Eh? You asked my name, you hikikomori.
[The world’s smallest murder case happened when the two met.]
Hana: I don’t enjoy being one.

[The first animated feature film by Shunji Iwai.]

Alice: A murder case?
Hana: Want to know what happened?
[Voice Actors / Yu Aoi as Alice / Anne Suzuki as Hana]
Alice: Well… I’m not sure.

Posted on October 17, 2014 In Trailers animation, comeback, fansubs, japan, news, shunji iwai, yu aoi

Vishal’s Blue Umbrella

Kore, nani nani nani??? Kirei~~~ xD

Here’s Vishal Bhardwaj’s The Blue Umbrella. I think he’s missing a children’s film to make it a full trilogy alongside Makdee, which -in fact- would make it a Little Girl’s Trilogy. Come on, do it, Vishal. Pick another girl and pair her against another great actor. My pick is Naseeruddin Shah.

The introduction to this movie against the snow is very reminiscent of Iwai’s Love Letter. o-genki desuka? Why the random link-up? There’s random Japanese in the movie. xD What Japanese tourist travels with their Japanese-styled umbrella? xD

Posted on September 6, 2014 In DVD/BR, English, Films, Fun, Graphics, Misc., Screencaps, Sharing by amy wong, child actors, children's programs, fanart, india, shunji iwai, vishal bhardwaj

Yu Aoi and her 15 Years in the Business

August 3, 2014 — Leave a comment

There’s an interview with Yu Aoi on (I guess, Japanese?) Woman Mangazine, where she mentions that she’s celebrating 15 years of work… so here’s a snapshot from some issue of ku:nel Magazine of Yu Aoi just chilling eating plain yogurt.

yu-aoi-kunel-magazine

Random enough? LOL, in the interview she talks about what she’s learned from other more experienced actors, like they’re not people of expressions, but people of labor. Then later explains how that played into her “training camp” experience for the shooting of Haru wo Seotte, which was shot at over 2500m above sea level in the snowy mountains.

You can read the whole interview here.

In the meantime, lets take a look at some oldies of Yu’s career, because~~~ WHY NOT? Some good old fashioned All About Lily Chou Chou screencaps via buta-neko.net, and some rare Oha GARU screencap via this blog.

In Celebrity, English, Films, Japanese, Screencaps, Sharing, Television actress, anniversary, fandom, from the vault, interview, japan, shunji iwai, yu aoi

Best of the Foreign 2000s

January 24, 2014

experiment-awards-foreign-best-of-2000s

I also made a [nomination] list of all my favorite foreign things of the last decade. If I had included all movies, general suspects would have applied (eg. Children of Men, Dancer in the Dark), but still remains a very ME list. I hope you like the selection, and don’t hesitate in suggesting films to watch.

Check all nominees and comment here.

In Sharing 2d classical animation, alfonso cuaron, amy wong, ang lee, animation, aoi miyazaki, audrey tautou, awards, ayumi ito, bae doona, best of, black and white, by amy wong, canada, carly pope, chang yung yung (sandrine pinna), child actors, china, chulpan khamatova, contemporary classics, discovering new actors, eita, eva green, food, france, gael garcia bernal, gong li, guillermo del toro, hayao miyazaki, india, japan, jay chou (zhou jielun), jean pierre jeunet, joe odagiri, juliette binoche, kore-eda, korea, kou shibasaki, latin america, lgbt, louis garrel, madhuri dixit, maggie cheung, marion cotillard, mika nakashima, miki nakatani, musical/choreography, nobuhiro yamashita, nominations, noomi rapace, penelope cruz, peru, rani mukerji, rie miyazawa, russia, ryo kase, salyu, sanjay leela bhansali, satoshi tsumabuki, shakespeare, shugo oshinari, shunji iwai, soundtrack, spain, special effects, studio ghibli, sweden, tabu (actress), taiwan, takeshi kaneshiro, tetsuya nakashima, tilda swinton, tony leung, ueno juri, vidya balan, vishal bhardwaj, wagner moura, whale rider, wong kar-wai, yam, yu aoi, zhang yimou, zhao wei (vicky zhao)

Kuch Kuch Hota Hai Re-Imagined by Shunji Iwai

September 3, 2013 — 2 Comments

I finally re-watched my BR copy of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai — Kajol’s eye makeup close-up in THAT scene on a big screen is stunning — my third time overall since I began watching Bollywood films and the best 9 hours of my life.

While watching KKHH last night, right after catching the trailer for Japan’s remake of Love Actually, it made me think what the world of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai would be like through the eyes of Shunji Iwai. Of course that would mean several cultural changes and cuts for length. I’m uncertain on whether I would place the main characters as college students or last years of high school… or even whether the school years should be taking place in the late 90s.

ayumi-ito-shugo-oshinari

What I was more focused on is the characteristics of the actors and their characters. For Kajol’s Anjali, I knew I needed someone who could be one of the boys but at the same time should be physically interesting, and I immediately thought of Ayumi Ito. Her boyish aura is best shown by her character in SOLANIN — her squishing the beer can is burnt in my mind — while having a sort of rough exterior. I know a lot of people who don’t mind Ayumi Ito, but I also know of some of these people who… given the time… were taken by her. So I don’t have any doubt in her talent.

Next up — I know SRK’s role is pivotal because Rahul is the epitome of the Bollywood heartthrob dufus, but I’m taking it down a notch. I’m not very knowledgeable about Japan’s heartthrobs, but I don’t want someone who would be too pretty to make guys nervous nor a guy that’s more of a guys’ guy. I thought Shugo Oshinari would be a nice middle point.
Continue Reading…

In DVD/BR, English, Films, Graphics, Japanese, Misc., Sharing ayumi ito, dream collaboration, fandom, india, japan, rani mukerji, shugo oshinari, shunji iwai

Top Flicks About Chicks

August 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

I really can’t remember exactly when I started out the Top Flicks About Chicks list on MUBI, but it must have been around the same time I wrote how Chick Flicks was a doomed genre in regards of critics. So it might be almost 4 years… and I’ve finally reached 300 titles in the list!!!

A Chick Flick should center on little girls, girls, young women and women… as students, as neighbors, as friends, as daughters, as granddaughters, as sisters, as mothers, as lovers. They are simply women. With that alone, we can tell all sort of other stories that have little to do with romantic comedies.

The purpose of the list, of course, was to encompass an array of female character — not only in the binary sense, since the list also includes men/boys who identify as women/girls… and viceversa — of various cultural, ethnic, social backgrounds. Not favoring one genre over the other, not valuing dramas over comedies… just simple stories about different women.

Though I’m sure the list could be longer, that’s 300 feature length films out of the 2896 (counting shorts) currently rated on the site- that’s roughly 10% so I suppose the list could expand to up to 500 or maybe 1000 once I reach 5000 or 10000 rated films on the site.

1. Treeless Mountain 2. Welcome to the Dollhouse 3. Juliana 4. Labyrinth 5. Fuckin’ Amal 6. Mirrormask 7. Gun Hill Road 8. Pariah 9. Bend it like Beckham 10. Swing Girls 11. The Land of the Deaf 12. Sunny 13. Whip It 14. Stoker 15. Maria Full of Grace 16. Breaking the Waves 17. My Marlon and Brando 18. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 19. Dil Bole Hadippa! 20. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 21. Kotoko 22. Violeta Went to Heaven 23. Skin 24. Raise the Red Lantern 25. Incendies

I picked 25 of the 300 films to illustrate some of the variety (I hope it’s AS varied as I intend the list to be), though I ran out of picks and couldn’t include any of the ‘older’ female characters. If I could pick 5 more, they’d be: Lemon Tree, Frozen River, Late Bloomers, Mother, For 80 Days.

In Celebrity, Chinese, DVD/BR, English, Films, French, Fun, Graphics, Japanese, Jobs, Korean, Misc., Russian, Sharing, Spanish, Swedish actress, alfonso cuaron, amy adams, animation, anne hathaway, aoi miyazaki, audrey tautou, ayumi ito, bae doona, best of, bjork, canada, china, chris lee (li yuchun), chulpan khamatova, contemporary classics, disney, elle fanning, ellen page, emily blunt, eva green, evan rachel wood, france, gaichu (harmful insect), gong li, greta garbo, guillermo del toro, hayao miyazaki, his dark materials, huzzah, independent, india, japan, joan crawford, julianne moore, juliette binoche, kate winslet, korea, kwai lun-mei, lars von trier, latin america, laura linney, marion cotillard, meryl streep, mia wasikowska, miki nakatani, movie classics, naomi watts, natalie portman, nicole kidman, nobuhiro yamashita, noomi rapace, olivia williams, pan's labyrinth, penelope cruz, peru, philip pullman, quiet room ni youkoso, rachel mcadams, rani mukerji, rankings, russia, saoirse ronan, sarah polley, shinobu yaguchi, shunji iwai, spain, studio ghibli, sweden, swing girls, taiwan, tetsuya nakashima, theauteurs.com, ueno juri, whale rider, yu aoi, zhang yimou, zhou xun

On Iwai’s Vampire and Yu Aoi’s Mina

August 2, 2013 — 1 Comment

I just watched Shunji Iwai’s Vampire – FINALLY! – sadly, it didn’t give me any important feels about it despite the LONG wait. Not even Yu-chan’s performance, though I really think having to speak English hindered her usual scene-stealing capabilities. It also seemed Iwai was slacking around with his script, and he just dropped Mina’s role for Aoi there if she wanted it at the last minute because she’s just so damn relaxed in it.

shunji-iwai-vampire-yu-aoi-016

I have no feelings towards Kevin Zegers, and Iwai only used all her actresses as passersby so even Keisha Castle-Hughes (only in the beginning), Kristin Kreuk (all the way into the end) and Katharine Isabelle (somewhere in the middle for a few minuets) fans are going to be disappointed. Rachael Leigh Cook has a bigger part in the film, but plays not a very compelling character, which I think would have been a better fit for Isabelle.

In Celebrity, DVD/BR, English, Films, Japanese, Jobs, Screencaps, Sharing canada, shunji iwai, shunji iwai vampire, yu aoi, yu aoi film discussion

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