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
Where to start?
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.
Continuing with the If Only… Yu Aoi Edition.
We’re almost done with these, so if you haven’t
participated, you can message me. I’ll email you with details.
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by Acerk
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:
Seems like a good Nakashima-san project.
I’m excited for it xD can’t wait for it…
And that Masaki Okada, he seems to be everywhere, eh!?
Check out the trailer via NipponCinema.
TheAuteurs has a nice post talking about some films that changed films in Japan in some way or the other…
Two major consequences of this have been: the diminishing status of the director in the creative process, who comes in as a hired gun, and: the banality and triteness of encountering performers on a daily basis, from movie to TV drama to variety show to advertising. The last decade launched the careers of countless “talentos”, young and cute boy-girl products, yet revealed but a handful of actors & actresses one might be eager to follow over the next ten years.
Wow, that statement sounds pretty negative xD almost making “auteur” films non-existent in Japan, and focusing on idol-pushing films that are more commercial than anything.
Like Acerk pointed out, a shout out to Shunji Iwai’s Lily Chou Chou film;
The film featured two outstanding young actresses, Ayumi Ito, discovered by Iwai for his 1996 Swallowtail Butterfly, and another Iwai revelation, Yu Aoi, who has since become one of Japan’s more original and refreshing performers. It should be noted that Iwai was among the first directors to hire TV drama stars as main actors in his films, to secure additional financing; he proved that when a director worked hard enough, he could get inspired work from talentos. This method has since been used by virtually every auteur in Japan.
Hello, and thank-you.
And more shout outs to Memories of Matsuko, and Tekkonkinkreet.
at Cinencuentro again!
This time around pointing out some experiences while watching those films, which doesn’t necessarily reflect what I consider the best… keyword, necessary.
Sorry, only in Spanish.
First, let me begin saying that I thought 2006 was a great year to watch films. Also, funny thing to point out — it was really, and I mean… REALLY tough to pick my Best Supporting Actress picks~
Many of my favorite films have a 2006 tag in them, so this list might seem a little bias, even though I really tried hard to not be. You might noticed how hard I tried not to be bias. LOL — check the Best Actress category~
I blame my cousin for this, because she watched Love Happens. Yes, she actually paid to watch Love Happens, which currently has a 16% freshness rate over at Rotten Tomatoes, and OMG I just checked a 0% from Top Critics hahahaha.
Buahahaha. Sorry, I’m still laughing.
Anyway… it reminded me about an Inside the Gold post, in which K was having trouble writing a review for Made of Honor.
Mostly, I was just getting angry about it for reasons I couldn’t understand… then it hit me. There was nothing original about the film. There was so little effort or originality that went into it, that I started to get upset that the film was even made.
That was followed by a request of Chick Flicks – of course, I added a bunch. Good and Bad, and the Guilty Pleasures, because that’s what was asked… which brings me back to now. I just got to see (500) Days of Summer, which you could say it’s one of those “hipster” films, but in reality it’s a romantic comedy. The movie is good, I liked it a lot… in fact, I can’t wait to get it on DVD xD It’s a not-a-love-story, and it’s sort of a chick flick, I think – and it’s good. So I don’t think it’s a doomed genre, there’s just a lot of crap around the genre for you to take seriously the really good ones.
In reality, Action films should suffer from the same. There’s a lot of crap action films out there that outnumber the really good action films. You can just say “oh, it’s another mindless action film.” but it still has a better tone to it than saying “it’s a chick flick.” – that simply sounds negative, without having the intention to.
I made a list of films by themes, and one of them was the “chick-centric” theme – it contained some really good films with female protagonists as mothers, daughters, granddaughters, friends, neighbors, girls, young women and women… etc, etc. – and from the 3 different themes I put together, “chick-centric” was the only one with no votes at all. So we do have a trigger that makes us think the word “chick” immediately means bad PMS mood swings, put your panties up in a bunch, and make your ovaries ache for that brooding-but-charming or geeky-but-charming hunk.
With female-centric films such as Linda, Linda, Linda – or Rachel Getting Married, One Million Yen Girl, The Guitar, Il y a Longtemps que Je t’Aime, Whale Rider, Hana & Alice… Hula Girls, Swing Girls, Kamikaze Girls~~~ or Romantic Dramas and Romantic Comedies like Shunji Iwai’s Love Letter. Perhaps American Chick Flicks should think of moving away from the frivolous girl meets boy, boy meets girl and they fall in love forever and always stories that they love to tell over and over again, and actually focus on another aspect of their protagonists lives.
A group of friends trying to make it to the school rock festival, a young woman trying to get one million Yen, a woman who just found out she’s about to die, a mother that comes out of jail, a girl trying to follow tradition in the opposite direction. Two friends who are growing up and perhaps growing apart, a group of girls trying to save their town, another group of girls who find something special in their lives, and two girls who find friendship in each other… etc, etc etc.
