i think i need to review the movies currently on my netflix queue again after tonites selection…the jackie chan movie gorgeous. i could tell you that i chose gorgeous for the jackie chan martial arts ass-kicketh-much-athon, or because tony leung rocks much. but everyone really knows that it was just to stare at hsu chi for an hour and a half. dur dee dur. as cute as she was tho, the movie itself was alot of suck. gosh, big suck. jackie chan can fight, and tony leung plays a pretty funny gay. hsu chi tho…she just pouts alot. like a buttload. every other second she pouts…and then spews out her incoherent dialogue. and then reverts back to pout mode. her acting range is staggering. but cute pouting didnt make up for the 2 hours of dredge i endured. cuteness only got the movie so far before i started fast forwarding past all the shite acting and ridiculously stupid plot, pacing, dialogue, film editing, art direction, sound production, gaffers, best boys, their catering, and especially that runty white dude that jackie chan fights. *sigh* what a waste. she’ll always be cute in my book…but no more movies based solely on the presence of hsu chi.

[ current selection | new order – temptation ]
[ feelin’ | feh ]

i spent the entire weekend on my bed watching movies and anime….wooha. ran thru wonderful days, stardust memories, and fonz’s witchhunter robin. ah…so relaxing.

the korean anime movie wonderful days in particular id been tracking for years now…before i started this blog. i cant even remember where i initially read about it (kf cinema?)…but i do remember reading about it before it even hit aicn (the usual place i read scoops) last february, and that its original teaser was ridiculously coo. the movie was released in korea just last summer, and utilizes a combination of traditional 2d animation, 3d cg, and (little known to alot of ppl at first)…old school model-making. not only does it look gorgeous, but it actually has a coo plot, characters, pace, etc…go fig. quickie plot summary. its the far future and most of the population is dead. one civilization, ecoban, rules the land because they control a system that generates energy from pollution, and as a result everybody tries to migrate into the city. many are turned away tho, and they form a town on the outskirts known as marr…and are used as physical labor by the inhabitants of ecoban. ecobans resources are slowly depleting as the earth heals itself, so they devise a plan to destroy the town of marr to replenish their resources. the inhabitants of marr find out, and wage a war against ecoban to take down their system. etc etc. anyway, the movie is very coo to watch and is highly recommended for those who think anime is strictly japanese. everybody else too.

> wonderful days (via aznfilms)
> official site

wow…where did this come from? from out of left field, aicn posted up new production designs from the forthcoming(?) live-action evangelion movie. like…not just one, but alot. a few little weirdness-s tho. like rei being spelled “ray”, and asuka langley as “kate rose”. who the hell is kate rose?? ack, anyhoo…keep on truckin’ yo.

> weta production designs
> past entry on weta + eva

[ current selection | outkast – hey ya ]
[ feelin’ | toasty ]

new info surfaced today on aicn about zhang yi mou and wong kar wais newest movies. following his booty-kicking turn at hero, zhang is going back into martial arts with shi mian mai fu (house of flying daggers) with zhang ziyi, andy lau (prosthetic boy…bwahaha), and takeshi kaneshiro. and in a bit of a surprise, they also had news about wong kar wais movie 2046. go fig. his long-in-development 2046 is supposedly in its final stages of post-production and could be out in time for the cannes film festival. starring a big ensemble cast including zhang ziyi, faye wong, and tony leung, it has an interesting enough faux-plot (since none of wkw’s movies actually have plots). ags used to send msgs from the set like, “zi’s a prostitute, and shes up on the roof in heels jumping around crouching tiger-style…” which i would just reply with “wtf?” interesting indeed.

> zym + wkw (via aicn)

current selection | cowboy bebop – blue
feelin’ | french

i thought id point out this bit of animated cinema in hopes that it gets just a wee more attention. the triplets of belleville, a french production that was showcased at the 2003 cannes film festivals, is a bit of traditionalist animation amongst a sea of computer-generated fare and hyper-nihon anime. not to say that finding nemo, ghost in the shell, sakura wars, and the like dont deserve the attention that they get, but its nice to have some fresh air in between the massive juggernauts of japan and america every once and a while. triplets, a movie about a grandmother and her dog searching for her kidnapped champion biker grandson thru an anachronistic world of the stylized 30’s, has a unique style all its own. you should just watch the damn trailer and hope that it gets some kind of distribution here.

> the triplets of belleville trailer
> official website
> review on aicn

yay…theres going to be a new wallace & gromit full feature film! an aicn article today talks about how the new feature, the curse of the were-rabbit, is already in production at aardman studios. check out the wallace & gromit website too…gromit rocks!

current selection | the turtles – happy together
feelin’ | swell

hail the great pumpkin! woo…im going all theme-like now. wonder what i could do for november. a turkey jus seems all contrived. itll prolly be a turkey. first random bit, this from aicn…man in rubber suit! man in rubber suit! except this isnt ur typical kaiju movie…its andy lau with prosthetic muscles. not in a comedic kind of way (b/c its pretty funny looking), but more in the “compensation” kind of way (think boogie nights). bwahahaha….ridiculously stupid. i dont care enough to actually read what the movies about. my idea of the story goes something along the lines of…andy laus feeling pretty down one day, and decides to transfer fat from his ass into his pecs and arms. hmm, thats jus wrong…ew. im just gonna sit here snickering at his rubber muscles. heeheehahahahohoho….

the cfo just walked by and gave me his old old old epson digital cam (for keeps) to play with. this buggers old school…im talking 1995 here. it has no digital display (viewfinder, baby!), uses a serial output, and runs on 4 aa batteries. wow. according to the box, its a stonkin’ 640×480 (0.3 megapixel) and has what im guessing is 1mb of mem. i dont kno if it works or not (batteries are dead), or whether i even need to go find its old drivers since its serial and not usb. but shit is it scary. its only 8 years old and im looking at it likes its some relic from the neolithic age. i was still in high school when this thing came out. am i that old? i am….*sniff* <cowers in corner>

current selection | millennium actress trailer
feelin’ | vitamized

yay weekend. i think its been a while since ive had a normal unobstructed weekend of relaxation. i started my relaxing last nite with a showing of the goonies in my private screening room (read: on my bed munching on senbei). shit, samwise rocks as lil mikey. on todays agenda…din with fish (shooting for cajun) and then gonna try and catch a showing of millennium actress. the trailer and synopsis look very coo…and its by the same director as perfect blue, satoshi kon. on tomorrows agenda…bum. and oh yea, mebbe fat chick stuff. (fyi…if u dont understand, dont ask)

current selection | misia – taiyouga irukara
feelin’ | feh

mondays….feh. no wait…i actually feel fine. had a three day weekend after all. woo! anyhoo…for kitano fans out there, a new zatoichi trailers up. zatoichi!

translation – top is the new trailer. bottom is the first trailer.