Bunny Re-enactment
See if you can get all the movie references... (video takes a long time to load).
Two Gaijin Thumbs Way Up - South Korean Edition
The second part of my picks for the east-asian film genre are much less shocking than their Japanese counterparts, yet they are wonderfully strange and must-sees for anyone who's looking for some variety in his/her weekend viewing.
1. 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring': One of the simplest but most beautiful movies I've ever seen. I would compare it with 'The Seventh Seal' for its straight-forwardness but the amount of monologues, dialogues and conversation in 'Spring, summer...' is much, much lesser. There are no flashy gimmicks, no technical wizardry. If there was a movie that could be called the perfect Buddhist film, then this would be it. Much of the story takes place on a lake. The lake with the surrounding scenery becomes a metaphor for life. If you don't want any surprises in a film, but a linear, no-frills story that speaks to you in powerful, simple ways, then this is the one for you.
My Rating:
armchairs out of 5
2. '3-Iron': Another movie by the director of 'Spring, Summer...', Kim Ki-Duk. Kim takes on the weird this time, and plays with ideas that are bizarre but pleasing at the same time. A hero who never speaks with the heroine, more buddhist imagery, and death by golf-balls - these are the elements that make this a delight to watch.
My Rating: out of 5
3. 'Oldboy': I saved the best for last. It's the movie Tarantino would've made, if Tarantino had been a philosophy professor. The director of Oldboy, Chan Wook Park, used to be one and it shows through in his creation. It's as exciting as a whodunit, but the story revolves around the whydunit. When the revelation comes, you realize that no one has gone this far before. Even if the setup seems too fantastic, the payoff in terms of action and style is well worth it.
My Rating: out of 5
1. 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring': One of the simplest but most beautiful movies I've ever seen. I would compare it with 'The Seventh Seal' for its straight-forwardness but the amount of monologues, dialogues and conversation in 'Spring, summer...' is much, much lesser. There are no flashy gimmicks, no technical wizardry. If there was a movie that could be called the perfect Buddhist film, then this would be it. Much of the story takes place on a lake. The lake with the surrounding scenery becomes a metaphor for life. If you don't want any surprises in a film, but a linear, no-frills story that speaks to you in powerful, simple ways, then this is the one for you.
My Rating:
armchairs out of 52. '3-Iron': Another movie by the director of 'Spring, Summer...', Kim Ki-Duk. Kim takes on the weird this time, and plays with ideas that are bizarre but pleasing at the same time. A hero who never speaks with the heroine, more buddhist imagery, and death by golf-balls - these are the elements that make this a delight to watch.
My Rating:
out of 53. 'Oldboy': I saved the best for last. It's the movie Tarantino would've made, if Tarantino had been a philosophy professor. The director of Oldboy, Chan Wook Park, used to be one and it shows through in his creation. It's as exciting as a whodunit, but the story revolves around the whydunit. When the revelation comes, you realize that no one has gone this far before. Even if the setup seems too fantastic, the payoff in terms of action and style is well worth it.
My Rating:
out of 5What's right with Kansas ? - II
An update on why I love Lawrence.
Two Gaijin Thumbs Way Up - I
Occasionally, I browse the forums on Rottentomatoes, where everyone's an armchair film critic and rates movies, as if it mattered to the rest of the world what he/she thought about 'Madagascar'. For example, in this deep thread about Colin Farrell's and Vin Diesel's acting credentials:
I figured it's time I rated my own list of movies, and I wanted it to be about ones that come from a certain portion of the world: East Asia. We've all seen the Ringu's and the Grudge's and the Dark Water's that get remade, but there's a whole slew of them that are just too disturbingly strange to be forgotten.
Here's my favorites:
1. 'Audition': My first Takashi Miike film. What starts out as a romantic melodrama, turns into an absolute nightmare halfway through. Miike uses an interesting gimmick at the end. In horror movies, there's usually a scene that's extremely scary, but turns out to be a dream. In Audition, he does the reverse, and uses an idyllic dream sequence in the midst of ... well, you have to watch it.
What I learnt: When a cute Japanese girl says 'Kuru Kuru Kuru' to you, STAY AWAY!
My Rating: armchairs out of 5
2. 'Ichi the Killer': Miike's obsession with the Yakuza continues, and the movie's filled with blood and gore, the way Quentin Tarantino's movies are not; the blood-letting is not fun to watch. Here's a review that summarizes the movie well.
What I learnt: Man-seed can be put to creative use in the opening credits sequence of a movie.
My Rating: out of 5
3. 'Visitor Q': If you've watched this , you can be sure that all other exploitation movies made in the future will pale in comparison to the number of taboos depicted and broken in this single one. The strangest thing about Visitor Q is that the actions of the characters make perfect sense in the logic of the movie. Beneath the jaw-dropping scenes, lies a logical solution to a family crisis.
What I learnt: Necrophilia, coprophilia, incest, and a lactation fetish can make a perfectly sweet 'family' outing.
My Rating: out of 5
I figured it's time I rated my own list of movies, and I wanted it to be about ones that come from a certain portion of the world: East Asia. We've all seen the Ringu's and the Grudge's and the Dark Water's that get remade, but there's a whole slew of them that are just too disturbingly strange to be forgotten.
Here's my favorites:
1. 'Audition': My first Takashi Miike film. What starts out as a romantic melodrama, turns into an absolute nightmare halfway through. Miike uses an interesting gimmick at the end. In horror movies, there's usually a scene that's extremely scary, but turns out to be a dream. In Audition, he does the reverse, and uses an idyllic dream sequence in the midst of ... well, you have to watch it.
What I learnt: When a cute Japanese girl says 'Kuru Kuru Kuru' to you, STAY AWAY!
My Rating:
armchairs out of 52. 'Ichi the Killer': Miike's obsession with the Yakuza continues, and the movie's filled with blood and gore, the way Quentin Tarantino's movies are not; the blood-letting is not fun to watch. Here's a review that summarizes the movie well.
What I learnt: Man-seed can be put to creative use in the opening credits sequence of a movie.
My Rating:
out of 53. 'Visitor Q': If you've watched this , you can be sure that all other exploitation movies made in the future will pale in comparison to the number of taboos depicted and broken in this single one. The strangest thing about Visitor Q is that the actions of the characters make perfect sense in the logic of the movie. Beneath the jaw-dropping scenes, lies a logical solution to a family crisis.
What I learnt: Necrophilia, coprophilia, incest, and a lactation fetish can make a perfectly sweet 'family' outing.
My Rating:
out of 5What's right with Kansas?
Living just thirty minutes away from a place you considered home for the last 3 years can make a big difference... especially if you live in Kansas. I never understood the snide remarks that people made about the state - they usually involved the words 'toto' or 'evolution' - until I moved to Topeka.
The difference between Lawrence and Topeka is the difference between life and ... non-life. Driving through the streets of Topeka gives you the feeling that you're riding through a ghost-town. I keep asking my new room-mate, "But what do people do here?!"
Lawrence is an example of a liberal college-town. Walk downtown and you're liable to meet potheads and sax-players in equal numbers. The nightlife is amazing; on any weekend night, there are at least four bands playing in live-music venues. Sunny Saturday afternoons are even better; downtown is bustling with families and college-students, in cafes and specialty shops.
Downtown topeka, by contrast, is known for muggings of L1-Infoscions at night. The only brewery-pub in town closes by 10:30. Live events are restricted to country music radio station 'comedy' stars. (Think 'blue collar comedy tour', but lower on the humor ladder).
The difference between L. and T. could figuratively illustrate the difference between a red and a blue state. Each town is the epitome of what it's supposed to represent. Lawrence stopped construction of a second Walmart; Topeka's state board of education voted to make Intelligent Design( a.k.a. "the theory of evolution-doesn't-explain-everything-so-it-must-be-wrong") part of the curriculum.
So, what did I get from moving? Savings of a couple of hundred dollars per month and a much, much shorter commute. Which brings me to why the little white band sits on the top left corner of this page. I was unsure about doing something like this, or even if I should try for something new, but I figured it was worth a go. If you know someone with good connections, let him know of my extreme employability. :)
The difference between Lawrence and Topeka is the difference between life and ... non-life. Driving through the streets of Topeka gives you the feeling that you're riding through a ghost-town. I keep asking my new room-mate, "But what do people do here?!"
Lawrence is an example of a liberal college-town. Walk downtown and you're liable to meet potheads and sax-players in equal numbers. The nightlife is amazing; on any weekend night, there are at least four bands playing in live-music venues. Sunny Saturday afternoons are even better; downtown is bustling with families and college-students, in cafes and specialty shops.
Downtown topeka, by contrast, is known for muggings of L1-Infoscions at night. The only brewery-pub in town closes by 10:30. Live events are restricted to country music radio station 'comedy' stars. (Think 'blue collar comedy tour', but lower on the humor ladder).
The difference between L. and T. could figuratively illustrate the difference between a red and a blue state. Each town is the epitome of what it's supposed to represent. Lawrence stopped construction of a second Walmart; Topeka's state board of education voted to make Intelligent Design( a.k.a. "the theory of evolution-doesn't-explain-everything-so-it-must-be-wrong") part of the curriculum.
So, what did I get from moving? Savings of a couple of hundred dollars per month and a much, much shorter commute. Which brings me to why the little white band sits on the top left corner of this page. I was unsure about doing something like this, or even if I should try for something new, but I figured it was worth a go. If you know someone with good connections, let him know of my extreme employability. :)
Ik ben geen beroemdheid
Thanks to celebrity face matching on MyHeritage.com, I discovered that I look like Jan Peter Balkenende. Such a shame, I was expecting someone more of a... celebrity.
via Kingsley2 > Riya > HorsePigCow
p.s: apologies for the japanese porn pixelation...
