Archive for August, 2009
A Message From Mamoru Oshii
Hi, Mamoru Oshii here, director of such films as Ghost in the Shell and Sky Crawlers. I just wanted to tell you all about my new movie, Assault Girls. I’m pretty sure it’s the best movie ever made, if I do say so myself. It has hot Japanese chicks with wings, giant sand worms and [...]
Disney Buys Marvel
Disney Corp. is buying out Marvel Comics. Some random thoughts…
1.) Pixar Marvel flicks? Yes, please…
2.) Incredibles: The Comic? Yes, please…
3.) The chance that any forthcoming Marvel superhero pics will suck just quadrupeled. And yes, this includes Iron Man 2 and any of the other proposed Avengers tie-ins.
4.) Mickey Mouse gets an adamantium skeleton and healing [...]
No Warrior Woman am I
Pssst. Hey, you. Come a little closer because I have a secret to tell you. I hate Amy Tan. Shocking, I know. OK, OK, to be fair, that’s not exactly true. I don’t hate Amy Tan herself (partly because I don’t even know her), but I hate the trend that she has spawned. Do you [...]
Yellow Menace Theater: Yojiro Takita’s ‘When the Last Sword is Drawn’
Hong Kong actor Shing Fui-On dead at 54
Hong Kong actor Shing Fui-On, known largely for his portrayal of rough-looking baddies in numerous crime thrillers, has died.
I remember reading some time ago that he was considered so unattractive that a woman once passed out at a screening of a film in which he appeared. Frankly I think that’s apocryphal – Shing wasn’t that [...]
The ‘Invncible Tiger’ soundtrack is yours for the taking
Invincible Tiger looks awesome. In case you haven’t heard, Invincible Tiger is a 2D martial arts beat-em-up that echoes classic 70’s kung-fu cinema. The game designers even went so far as to implement a film-grain filter that makes the flick look like cheesy grindhouse fare. I hope it plays better than Rag Doll Kung Fu, [...]
Buttered Bridge in China
Wow. Apparently one particular bridge in Guangzhou is so popular for suicides that officials got sick of the traffic jams they constantly caused. They tried everything to deter the despairing, but nothing worked. Until someone came up with the ingenious idea of smearing the bridge with butter so no one could climb up.
It\’s Like Butter
This [...]
No Peas in Malaysia
Malaysia has withdrawn an order to cane a woman in public for drinking a beer, but if you’re a Malaysian Muslim, you can’t see the Black Eyed Peas.
Not because they suck ass, which is the reason that immediately sprang to my mind, but because their latest tour is sponsored by Guinness.
The website for the Black [...]
New to Netflix – Craptacularity Edition
Fans of shitty martial arts flicks will want to check out three new offerings on Netflix’s Instant Watch service – the first two, Kickboxer 3 and 4, are probably not worth mentioning – but Yossi Wein’s Ninja-sploitation flick Lethal Ninja looks like an amazing piece of craptacular cheese. Ninjas on rollerskates? Hot damn!
Trailers and/or video [...]
Read ‘The Short Timers’ – the original source for Kubrick’s ‘Full Metal Jacket’ – online
While I was in a flu / sleep-deprivation based haze last night, I fired up Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam polemic Full Metal Jacket on Netflix. It was a bit of a whim – I hadn’t seen the flick since college and I was in the mood for some senseless violence. It was just as good as [...]
Music to My Ears
When I was a kid, I was told by my mother that I had to learn how to play an instrument. I took piano lessons for a year, but it just wasn’t my thing. Besides, I’m Asian American, which means I NEEDED to learn a string instrument–it was practically mandated by (unspoken) law. My older [...]
New to Netflix Instant Watch: Chan-wook Park’s ‘Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance’ and ‘Lady Vengeance’
Fans of Chan-wook Park’s Oldboy who haven’t had a chance check out the preceeding and following installments of the so-called Vengeance Trilogy will be happy to know that they are now available via Netflix’s Instant Watch feature. Although Oldboy has gotten the most attention, all three installments are well worth your time.
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Lady [...]
Is Japan’s ‘Pop Idol’ phenomenon going the way of the Dodo?
In this recent Japan Times FYI column, Minoru Matsutani mulls the decline of Japan’s Pop Idol culture, following the arrest of former J-Pop sensation Noriko Sakai.
I wish I could provide a serious counterpoint to Matsutani’s assertion that the decline of 80’s pop stardom has passed into myth, but frankly 1980’s Japanese idol-worship aint my thang. [...]
James McTeigue has huge man-crush on K-pop sensation Rain
Listening to James McTeigue talk about his ‘Ninja Assassin‘ leading man Rain makes me wonder if McTeigue isn’t harboring some sort of latent lustful desire for the guy. Then again, look at him. Those are some manly, manly pecs.
“Rain is an incredible athlete,” McTeigue said. “An incredible personality too. You just have to spend a [...]
Democratic Party of Japan threatens to cut funding for ‘anime hall of fame’
I am so sick and tired of hearing the retarded debate on Health Care in the U.S. – it nice to see a country that can have debates about sensible things. Like cutting budgetary plans for an ‘anime hall of fame‘.
The fiscal 2009 supplementary budget includes money for the government’s plan to build the media [...]
