That moment when you want to write something, but sit down and can't think? That's what this is. (laughs) I feel like I have a zillion and a half (the half is important) thoughts zooming through my mind. If I catch one, I'll jot it down and maybe this post will be somewhat cohesive. Fingers crossed.
A few months ago, chest pain took me to the ER twice in two weeks. Abnormal EKGs and another doctor's concern had me held overnight the second time. Since then, I've worn, and returned, a month-long heart event monitor and am awaiting the results. At the moment, the issue remains unexplained. Neurology and Cardiology are working together to figure out the cause: my brain or my heart. (Giggity)
Probably unsurprisingly so, I haven't felt that great lately. I'm experiencing more issues with my arms, which, of course, causes issues with my hands and fingers. Like last summer, I'm hitting extremely hard fatigue walls that knock me out for a few hours. And I'm feeling a greater disconnect between myself and my brain. I swear, I talk about my brain like we share a symbiotic relationship, and that's weird, I know, but it truly feels like it.
This morning I was talking to my cats about finding Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card on Hulu last night, (there was a huge WHOO-HOO moment when I found the books on Rightstuf). I couldn't get the words right. I kept saying, "Cloudclaptor..." I got frustrated and shut up. (I think the cats were grateful.) But this word slippage and other vocal issues have been getting worse. I mumble now and don't realize it, I put the wrong consonants into words (like Funny instead of Money), and I randomly pick up an Irish or other foreign accent. It's still at that super weird stage that makes us laugh when it happens.
Speaking of Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card, I love it! Sakura is one of the cutest and sweetest anime/manga characters, and the anime itself is always uplifting with positive interaction between Sakura and her friends. Thankfully, there is no English dub to waste your time with (unlike the original season-don't, just don't). I'm so used to watching the Sub that it'd be odd to hear other voices. Since I am reading the manga, and am current, I'll eventually get to a point where I need to stop watching so I don't ruin the reading experience. So far, it seems that several episodes fit into a book.
I've also been reading the Sherlock manga that essentially takes the BBC show and puts it to paper. It's pretty cool. The lack of color pages does limit what the reader can deduce, which is my only complaint. It's obvious from the first book: A Study in Pink. I missed quite a bit of the pink stuff since it's all in black or white. Otherwise, it's cool to enjoy Sherlock in different mediums. Like with Cardcaptor, I read the books first and then watch the show. I realize this reveals that I'm a late comer to the BBC show, but oh well. With only 3-4 episodes per season, I like the forced pacing. I also enjoy Elementary and the Robert Downey Jr movies. I have the Moriarty novel in my towering "to read" pile, and the collected works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The game is a foot!
My newest obsession is watching (and listening to) the ISS live feed here: http://www.n2yo.com/space-station/. The first few days I watched, it was silent, so it scared the beejees out of me when I was in another part of the house and heard a man talking in the supposedly empty loft. I hadn't noticed the other live feeds on the page and got to watch one of the astronauts (Alex) working in the air lock. It's fascinating! And watching the sun set from the ISS roughly every 20 minutes is otherworldly.
I picked up a book called "Civil War Front Pages" by John Wagman. It is absorbing. It's difficult to read since much of the news print is small. I happened to flip to the day the war ended and was amazed by the headlines, huge and bolded, with giant eagles of victory. I wonder what it was like for people to see that on their newspaper in 1865 after years of a nation torn apart. The grandeur of the headlines spoke volumes.
I'm a bit behind on my comics, but I'm enjoying the Doomsday Clock comic and the Justice League Dark tradebacks - I'm almost done with them. I can't believe Doomsday Clock won't finish its run until next summer! AND! I am so, SO thankful that Netflix picked up Lucifer for season 4! A tv without Tom Ellis on it would be a sad tv. The saddest tv if ever there was. Now it can be happy. ^_^ I'm into the fourth volume of the Lucifer run by Mike Carey (he was created by Neil Gaiman in his Sandman series). It is vastly different from the show, but that's a good thing, I think. Because they are so different, spotting Easter Eggs on the show is extra cool. I'm also still working my way through the Hellblazer tradebacks from the original run. I grew up in the 80s, so seeing it portrayed in comic form as an adult is eye-opening. With few differences, you'd think it was modern day - racism, fear of war, violence, etc. Aside from the supernatural aspects of the story, it's very real and sometimes that makes it hard to read. Not hard in a literal sense - it's like watching the news these days. You need a break from it. Hence - moving slowly.
I think we're going to watch a movie soon, so I need to post this and "run." (I don't run; I hobble.) BUT - we watched Annihilation the other night and it's amazing. Gorgeous shots with a story that doesn't ram itself down your throat. Anyone who's played The Last of Us - watch this. So many of the mutations in the shimmer are reminiscent of scenes in The Last of Us and even from The Evil Within 2. I would love for a game developer to base a game on this movie/book series. It has potential for some really cool things.
Ok, well, I smell popcorn. Confessions is still in the works - I've just taken a small break while other folks are critiquing. I think we'll be on track for a July release. ^_^
PS - there's a promo video for Confessions on my Amazon author page. Watch it! amazon.com/author/kastiepavlik
Showing posts with label movie reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie reviews. Show all posts
Monday, July 2, 2018
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Movie Review Part Dos! (White - Korean Horror) Anime Reivew! (Kaze No Stigma) Loco Rambling!
'Twould seem a weekend in bed is driving me little a little crazier than usual. I've gotten out of bed a handful of times and only left the room twice...today. Yesterday...maybe I left the room four times. Hooray for math. I can count.
So today I streamed White, a Korean Horror flick (subtitled) and watched the entire Kaze no Stigma anime series (24 episodes). Of course, I also talked with the vet and asked that they run a comprehensive blood panel on Neko, not only to search for a possible culprit, but also to check on her kidney and liver function since dehydration could cause issues. And my dad called to check on me, which was sweet, but I couldn't talk long since I was waiting on the vet to call and I'm a cheapskate who won't pay for call-waiting on my home line. I hate land lines and, since I mentioned it, I'm feeling better than I was, but still not great, still have an awful headache, and didn't need to take any of the pain meds I was given on Friday.
Okay, so the reviews! #1 - White. This subbed Korean horror movie is about an all girl idol group who have hit bottom and live in the shadow of a popular group. That all changes when one member discovers a song called 'White,' complete with choreography, and the group takes it on as their own. However, as they find more and more fame, and begin fighting with one another for the "main" spot, tragedy begins to strike and the member who found the song begins to wonder if it isn't cursed. The plot may sound a bit hokey and anyone familiar with vengeful Japanese/Korean/Asian ghost-story horror movies may guess how it plays out with ease, but it was still an entertaining movie. I won't say it was gripping or even scary - it isn't capable of grabbing the audience in the ways that The Grudge or The Ring could - but there was at least one moment where my jaw dropped open and I thought the constant bickering and bullying among the girls was realistic. I'm more familiar with Japanese culture and the problems with bullying there, but given this film's deeper meaning, I found their cruel and degrading treatment toward each other and one member in particular very believable. There were a few moments of beautiful artistry, especially near the end, when White emerges - I love her solo poster - and there are a few moments where I was confused. I'm not certain if I missed something, if something wasn't translated, or if it's an insider thing specific to the music industry, but they refer to a video tape a lot and when they begin to analyze it for a specific thing, it's that specific thing that lost me. But even so, it's been a while since my brain has tried to solve a movie while I watched and I was right on top of this one (again, anyone familiar with these types of films probably won't find it that difficult - it just felt good to be watching and solving again, instead watching and mindless). Anyway, I enjoyed it and liked it. I liked the way the main character was handled throughout the movie and especially in the end. POSSIBLE SPOILER DEPENDING ON HOW YOU VIEW SPOILERS - I like that while she did get a little snobbish after gaining popularity, she still treated her best friend well (even if she did call her an "acquaintance" in an interview), and how she signed the cd for her friend - I think there are subtleties in her actions toward her friend that speak more toward her character than the words she uses. Anyway, that's my take and I liked that attention to detail with the character.
I do have one minor issue with the movie, but stating it here would, in my opinion, be a major spoiler, so I won't say anything at all. Things just...happen in a rather convenient way for the plot to advance and that doesn't mesh very well with the typical ghost story.
#2. Kaze No Stigma - an anime series about elemental martial arts magic users that focuses mainly on a high powered fire-using family who banished their son, Kazuma, because he couldn't harness the power of fire. As an adult, Kazuma returns, having gained the power of wind, and joins forces with his former family in their fight against evil. Okay - that is a super simplified version of the plot, but it's better than the one Netflix provides, which makes it sound like something for kids. Teens, yeah, ok. But not little kids. First - the coloring is excellent and the voice acting is excellent (dub), with a lot of familiar voices. Second - Kazuma was SO MUCH like Phantom in the second part of Phantom: Requiem for Phantom (Zwei) after he accepts his fate, that it was eerie. For the first couple of episodes, if it wasn't for the wind and fire magic, and screeching teenage redhead, I'd think I was watching Phantom. They aren't voiced by the same person, but I swear they are similar. Anyway, the first part of the series focuses on Kazuma's relationship with his family and his partnership with Ayano (the screeching teenage redhead). At first they mostly go about one or two episode monster hunts until the story begins to evolve and form a linear, continuous plot. This plot delves into Kazuma's past, is sad and tragic, is interesting, and makes me really wish there would be another season. However, according to a quick bit of research, the creator for this story is now deceased and it appears the project has been cancelled. I haven't confirmed any of that as true, but given that the anime aired in 2007 and it's now 5 years later...I think they (Gonzo) have moved on. My thoughts. Kazuma is a serious fellow and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of him throughout the anime. He is one of those unflinching, unwavering, and unbeatable guys with a tortured heart beating at the center of his chest. He made me want to watch this anime. He is why I watched the whole thing in a day. The rest...okay, so the rest is fine, except that I wish the rest had stayed at Kazuma's level. But maybe that was their way of showing the difference of maturity in their characters - I don't really know. Ayano had moments of maturity, but overall was rather annoying and I wanted more seriousness and maturity from her. Overall, I wanted more seriousness and maturity from the whole anime. The other supporting characters, like Kazuma's brother, Ren, his uncle, and his father, and the villains and whatnot where all fine. I actually really liked Ren. He was a cute character and I loved his interactions with his friends. But the seriousness and maturity level extends to the anime itself. There's a lot of fan service going on here - panty shots, wind blowing skirts up, torn up clothes, big breasts, unnecessary boob jiggling (and I mean it - boobs jiggling in the scene just to have them jiggle). The story gets really serious once the relationships are established and this just doesn't go with the maturity level that the anime sets for itself. That was kind of disappointing. I wanted more from it. If it hadn't gotten so serious, if Kazuma was a little goofier - maybe like Vash - I don't know - maybe the lighter side would've been easier to accept. But as it is, this seems like two animes trying to meld into one that kind of mostly works, but leaves you wishing it was a little bit better. So that's it. I enjoyed it. I wish there's more to it. I want to know what happens, what the whole story is, and I wish it was more serious. But even with all that, this is a title I would put on my buy list. It wouldn't be at the top, but if I saw it for a good price tomorrow, I'd pick it up. I can enjoy goof, silly anime (I LOVE Cromartie High and Azumanga Daioh), and I can appreciate lighthearted characters juxtaposed with serious characters (take xxxHolic or Fruits Basket, for example) when done well. However, here, the juxtaposition doesn't sit well. But if you can overlook that, or if you like jiggling boobs and panty shots along with lots teenage girls, fighting, monsters, and fire/wind magic, then check this title out.
When I sat down to write this, I realized that what I should be reviewing is my new laptop. Is it ironic that I work in I.T. and choose to review movies and anime instead of my new HP Pavilion M6 with its 3rd gen (yes, Ivy Bridge...woot!) Intel i5 processor and 8gb DDR3 ram and 700 gb hdd? The M6 is HP's replacement for their DV6 line, which is my other laptop, running a measly core two duo with 4gb ddr 3 and a 500 gb hdd. It's going to get a ram upgrade and become my husband's laptop since his Dell is dead and will soon have a greater metal-to-lead ratio (read: he's going to shoot it). We have an even older HP Pavilion, from one of the dinosaur-eras from whence XP was born, that we upgraded as a spare for my father-in-law to use when he house sits for us. We added a one-gig stick of ram and that thing is speeding along now. I'm looking forward to upgrading my DV6. Maybe one of these days I'll review this M6.
Sorry for any typos. I've already taken my meds and vertigo is setting in, so re-reading this is out of the question now. Have a good night!
So today I streamed White, a Korean Horror flick (subtitled) and watched the entire Kaze no Stigma anime series (24 episodes). Of course, I also talked with the vet and asked that they run a comprehensive blood panel on Neko, not only to search for a possible culprit, but also to check on her kidney and liver function since dehydration could cause issues. And my dad called to check on me, which was sweet, but I couldn't talk long since I was waiting on the vet to call and I'm a cheapskate who won't pay for call-waiting on my home line. I hate land lines and, since I mentioned it, I'm feeling better than I was, but still not great, still have an awful headache, and didn't need to take any of the pain meds I was given on Friday.
Okay, so the reviews! #1 - White. This subbed Korean horror movie is about an all girl idol group who have hit bottom and live in the shadow of a popular group. That all changes when one member discovers a song called 'White,' complete with choreography, and the group takes it on as their own. However, as they find more and more fame, and begin fighting with one another for the "main" spot, tragedy begins to strike and the member who found the song begins to wonder if it isn't cursed. The plot may sound a bit hokey and anyone familiar with vengeful Japanese/Korean/Asian ghost-story horror movies may guess how it plays out with ease, but it was still an entertaining movie. I won't say it was gripping or even scary - it isn't capable of grabbing the audience in the ways that The Grudge or The Ring could - but there was at least one moment where my jaw dropped open and I thought the constant bickering and bullying among the girls was realistic. I'm more familiar with Japanese culture and the problems with bullying there, but given this film's deeper meaning, I found their cruel and degrading treatment toward each other and one member in particular very believable. There were a few moments of beautiful artistry, especially near the end, when White emerges - I love her solo poster - and there are a few moments where I was confused. I'm not certain if I missed something, if something wasn't translated, or if it's an insider thing specific to the music industry, but they refer to a video tape a lot and when they begin to analyze it for a specific thing, it's that specific thing that lost me. But even so, it's been a while since my brain has tried to solve a movie while I watched and I was right on top of this one (again, anyone familiar with these types of films probably won't find it that difficult - it just felt good to be watching and solving again, instead watching and mindless). Anyway, I enjoyed it and liked it. I liked the way the main character was handled throughout the movie and especially in the end. POSSIBLE SPOILER DEPENDING ON HOW YOU VIEW SPOILERS - I like that while she did get a little snobbish after gaining popularity, she still treated her best friend well (even if she did call her an "acquaintance" in an interview), and how she signed the cd for her friend - I think there are subtleties in her actions toward her friend that speak more toward her character than the words she uses. Anyway, that's my take and I liked that attention to detail with the character.
I do have one minor issue with the movie, but stating it here would, in my opinion, be a major spoiler, so I won't say anything at all. Things just...happen in a rather convenient way for the plot to advance and that doesn't mesh very well with the typical ghost story.
#2. Kaze No Stigma - an anime series about elemental martial arts magic users that focuses mainly on a high powered fire-using family who banished their son, Kazuma, because he couldn't harness the power of fire. As an adult, Kazuma returns, having gained the power of wind, and joins forces with his former family in their fight against evil. Okay - that is a super simplified version of the plot, but it's better than the one Netflix provides, which makes it sound like something for kids. Teens, yeah, ok. But not little kids. First - the coloring is excellent and the voice acting is excellent (dub), with a lot of familiar voices. Second - Kazuma was SO MUCH like Phantom in the second part of Phantom: Requiem for Phantom (Zwei) after he accepts his fate, that it was eerie. For the first couple of episodes, if it wasn't for the wind and fire magic, and screeching teenage redhead, I'd think I was watching Phantom. They aren't voiced by the same person, but I swear they are similar. Anyway, the first part of the series focuses on Kazuma's relationship with his family and his partnership with Ayano (the screeching teenage redhead). At first they mostly go about one or two episode monster hunts until the story begins to evolve and form a linear, continuous plot. This plot delves into Kazuma's past, is sad and tragic, is interesting, and makes me really wish there would be another season. However, according to a quick bit of research, the creator for this story is now deceased and it appears the project has been cancelled. I haven't confirmed any of that as true, but given that the anime aired in 2007 and it's now 5 years later...I think they (Gonzo) have moved on. My thoughts. Kazuma is a serious fellow and I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of him throughout the anime. He is one of those unflinching, unwavering, and unbeatable guys with a tortured heart beating at the center of his chest. He made me want to watch this anime. He is why I watched the whole thing in a day. The rest...okay, so the rest is fine, except that I wish the rest had stayed at Kazuma's level. But maybe that was their way of showing the difference of maturity in their characters - I don't really know. Ayano had moments of maturity, but overall was rather annoying and I wanted more seriousness and maturity from her. Overall, I wanted more seriousness and maturity from the whole anime. The other supporting characters, like Kazuma's brother, Ren, his uncle, and his father, and the villains and whatnot where all fine. I actually really liked Ren. He was a cute character and I loved his interactions with his friends. But the seriousness and maturity level extends to the anime itself. There's a lot of fan service going on here - panty shots, wind blowing skirts up, torn up clothes, big breasts, unnecessary boob jiggling (and I mean it - boobs jiggling in the scene just to have them jiggle). The story gets really serious once the relationships are established and this just doesn't go with the maturity level that the anime sets for itself. That was kind of disappointing. I wanted more from it. If it hadn't gotten so serious, if Kazuma was a little goofier - maybe like Vash - I don't know - maybe the lighter side would've been easier to accept. But as it is, this seems like two animes trying to meld into one that kind of mostly works, but leaves you wishing it was a little bit better. So that's it. I enjoyed it. I wish there's more to it. I want to know what happens, what the whole story is, and I wish it was more serious. But even with all that, this is a title I would put on my buy list. It wouldn't be at the top, but if I saw it for a good price tomorrow, I'd pick it up. I can enjoy goof, silly anime (I LOVE Cromartie High and Azumanga Daioh), and I can appreciate lighthearted characters juxtaposed with serious characters (take xxxHolic or Fruits Basket, for example) when done well. However, here, the juxtaposition doesn't sit well. But if you can overlook that, or if you like jiggling boobs and panty shots along with lots teenage girls, fighting, monsters, and fire/wind magic, then check this title out.
When I sat down to write this, I realized that what I should be reviewing is my new laptop. Is it ironic that I work in I.T. and choose to review movies and anime instead of my new HP Pavilion M6 with its 3rd gen (yes, Ivy Bridge...woot!) Intel i5 processor and 8gb DDR3 ram and 700 gb hdd? The M6 is HP's replacement for their DV6 line, which is my other laptop, running a measly core two duo with 4gb ddr 3 and a 500 gb hdd. It's going to get a ram upgrade and become my husband's laptop since his Dell is dead and will soon have a greater metal-to-lead ratio (read: he's going to shoot it). We have an even older HP Pavilion, from one of the dinosaur-eras from whence XP was born, that we upgraded as a spare for my father-in-law to use when he house sits for us. We added a one-gig stick of ram and that thing is speeding along now. I'm looking forward to upgrading my DV6. Maybe one of these days I'll review this M6.
Sorry for any typos. I've already taken my meds and vertigo is setting in, so re-reading this is out of the question now. Have a good night!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Movie Reviews! The Caller, Audition, The Perfect Host ... Quick Anime Review Notes ... and Some Rambling!
I've been wanting to blog. But not about any one thing in particular. And I realize that I tend to not only write long posts, but also ramble on about topics completely unrelated from one another.
So, for starters, So You Think You Can Dance is done. Chehon and Eliana won. YAY! (Even though I'm sad for Cyrus. Boo!) I found a lot of music through the season and through the "if you like this, you might this" feature on Amazon, so I have a "brand new" 6-hour playlist filled with a range of music from classical, dubsteb, and electronica. Woot! I even bought a cd - Gus Gus Arabian Horse. I < 3 them! (yes, I just did that. Check them out...I fell in love first with Believe (not on Arabian Horse) and Over (track 3 on Arabian Horse))
What else is new in the world as I see it? Well, my cat Neko (occasional substitute blogger whose name is the same as the Japanese word for cat even though we pronounce it with a long ee...see rambling?) - anyway, my cat Neko had to go to the emergency clinic the Thursday night before last and then to our local animal hospital on last Saturday morning, which is where she has resided ever since. She presented with bloody diarrhea and impacted anal glands. She was in a lot of pain. She is doing better, but is on three anti-biotics, subcu-IV fluids, and isn't in any shape to come home yet. :-(
In addition, Lucien, our alpha male (who is the biggest baby), had a bladder infection and the antibiotics made him sick. He spent over 6 days/nights in the hospital on two occasions (total) waiting for urine samples because he is such a stubborn little guy. He finally came home today with the okay to stop treatment and keep an eye on him. He's been cuddling ever since.
So, speaking of cuddling and health issues, I had to go to the doctor again yesterday and am in the process of setting up a potential surgical consult to follow the procedure I'm having done in a few weeks. SO, I've spent the day in bed cuddling with Lu and streaming Netflix while Tim and G-man work the Illini game.
Which leads to why I actually decided to write this post. I watched three movies today and as I write this, I'm starting an anime series (which I will restart to give it a proper watching): Kaze no Stigma (Stigma of the Wind, I believe). I recognize many of the voices, so while I'm not paying a lot of attention to it, I'm already intrigued just because of that.
Movie #1: The Caller - psychological horror/thriller. A woman going through a divorce moves into an apartment whose phone receives calls from a woman living in 1979. They strike up a friendship that soon turns sour...with dire consequences in the past and present. I liked it. The lighting, camera work, and coloring were all excellent at creating the atmosphere and setting the mood. I didn't really cringe every time the phone rang, which I imagine is what the director intended, but there was so much going on in the story, that the phone almost fell into the background. The movie has some heart-wrenching moments and others that make you just stop for a second, but it doesn't allow you much time to mourn or wonder because it keeps moving forward. The movie seems simple on the surface, but it's multilayered and intriguing. The mystery behind the caller is never explained. I like that because anything they came up would seem contrived and ruin the story. There were a few spots where I questioned why she didn't call the police, but those were easy to brush aside for the sake of the story. In the end, what needs to be explained has been explained and the story comes together in a near perfect way. It is tragic and beautiful with all of the layers, and even more so when extra time is taken to think about those layers. I can't make a call on the Nerdgirl scary scale - I don't think it's scary, especially not in the spooky sense, but there are a few places that could make someone jump (it is more psychological after all). There aren't any monsters and the only paranormal events are the phone calls. Everything else involves people (for example: the main character's abusive ex-husband). There are a few violent scenes, but they tend to build up and pass quickly, and I don't remember seeing a lot of blood, except in one scene, but even that is brief.
Movie #2: Audition - Japanese Horror (subtitled). Okay - so this movie has a cult following for the supposedly gratuitous and graphic torture scenes that (according to Wikipedia, so take that for whatever it's worth) made the movie hard for even Rob Zombie to enjoy. I've been curious. The Japanese are known for going over the top and I've seen some crazy torture stuff in anime, so I was more than a little curious about Audition. I just needed to know if I could stomach it. I decided to try. The movie runs about an hour an a half, and most of it focuses on the central story: a widower, 7-years after his wife's death, is urged by his teenage son to remarry. Together with a friend in the movie production business, he holds auditions to find the perfect woman. Of course, as you can probably guess, he doesn't choose wisely. However, since most of the movie focuses on him, his loneliness, his son, his son's ambitions, and then his excitement at falling in love with the perfect woman, I found myself relating to him and empathizing with him. Perhaps I would have been drawn in more had I not known anything about the woman. The parts that have made the movie so popular don't occur until the last 30 or even 20-minutes of the film, and the famous, "graphic" torture sequence is among the last in the film, and most of it is spent showing more of how much she's enjoying it than it is actually showing the torture. Okay, so here's my take on it - I'm very sensitive to things. I hate torture in movies, will not watch domestic or sexual violence, hate seeing animals get hurt or killed, etc. But I was almost laughing during the torture scene. It just seemed so out of place. Her character had shifted so drastically and without explanation, that her torture getup and her devices - the whole thing just seemed really out of left field (pardon the lack of a better expression). (Before anyone says anything about the "love only me" thing, I get that, and I get that she snapped when she saw the picture of his late wife, but even with that, it was a drastic shift.) And then the torture itself, by today's standards, with the Saw movies and whatnot, was VERY tame. There was hardly any blood and it really was more about her enjoying his pain and what she was doing than actually showing what she was doing. In my opinion, this will stay a cult hit, because it is one, but time has done the damage because movies have only gotten more violent. I've been more disturbed by the violence in the newest Bond films than I was by anything in Audition. Now, that said, because of that, I was able to enjoy the movie. I can see where the shock and awe factors were supposed to be, but in the end, I felt horrible for the widower and I felt sorry for her. But her story wasn't adequately told or something was lost in translation to bring about anything more than surface feelings for her because her end character did not match the character she had been throughout the movie. Even given that what I say is "tame torture" by today's standards...LATE EDIT: I've removed the Nerdgirl scary scale comment because I realized that I don't honestly know how she would rate this movie and she has a much stronger stomach than I do. So I've decided to rate this on my own scale, which makes more sense since I described my own tastes. This is not a movie that people like me or people sensitive to violence should watch. It is still sadistic. It is still torture. It is sad and tragic. I was only able to make it through because I researched the movie ahead of time, knew what to expect, had some previous experience with the genre in animated form, and got myself into a frame of mind to see it completely as a work of fiction (much easier to do with an anime, I have to say). If I had gone in blind and not prepared, I am certain parts of the movie and the end would have bothered me. However, even with all that, I stand by the my review.
Movie #3 The Perfect Host - dark comedy/thriller. Starring David Hyde Pierce, The Perfect Host has been on my watch list for a while, but I kept forgetting about it. A bank robber on the run crashes the wrong dinner party and regrets it...a lot. Skipping ahead - Nerdgirl - watch this!! This movie is so dark and hilarious, and David Hyde Pierce is absolutely perfect in his role. This movie was made for him. Just when the robber thinks he has control...um, no sir. You've just entered the Twilight Zone mind of a violent schizophrenic who likes to party. Between the drinking and the singing and the conga line and the dancing, and then the pool...there is so much to this "dinner party" as seen through the eyes of the robber and the eyes of Pierce that it's hard not to get swept up and just enjoy the "fun." Sometimes I wasn't sure how dark it was actually going to go, but that was part of how good it was. And there was more going on in the background, as well, such as flashbacks regarding the robber's life and why he robbed the bank, and discoveries detectives were making about his case. The former served to help the viewer feel sorry for the robber, since he appears initially as a cold-hearted jackass, while the latter seems misplaced and forced into the story because it needs to be there until everything is neatly tied together in the end. The thing about these other two parts is that while I was enjoying the dinner party and not trying to solve the case or look for twists, there were certain things that my mind would grab onto - little tidbits of information that only existed in the story because they were pertinent in some way. That is, after all, one of the first things we learn as writers - only add what's necessary (unless its a deliberate distraction, but hey, even that's necessary, right?). So I deliberately ignored those tidbits, just so I could enjoy the movie without solving it. And I'm glad I did because it was so much better that way. Excellent movie. I can't say that enough.
So I'll stop there. I have a two queries out and am working on a one-page synopsis. One. Page. X_X Ug.
Until my next ramble. Goodnight. Oh - it's a Bleach night! Yay! ^_^ Until then, back to Kaze No Stigma. Oh, and, although been it's on my watch list for awhile, since Adult Swim acquired the rights to show it, I've been watching Samurai 7 - it's starting out slow and one character in particular is rather annoying, but it's enjoyable. Plus it's based on Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai, which the Bare Naked Ladies sung about in One Week (and Sailor Moon, too!). I'm not really a big BNL fan, though. I've also been forcing myself through Casshern Sins and that's starting to pay off. I think they could have tossed half of the eps and been better off. I've never seen the original. Other anime titles that I've watched and enjoyed lately (read: within the last year or so) include Gun X Sword (come on, its like Spike from Cowboy Bebop piloting Big O with a wee bit of Trigun mixed in there somewhere. How can that not be awesome?), Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne (adult title) - despite the gratuitous nature of adult titles, this one included, I liked the story and actually cried at the tragic turn, Trigun: Badlands Rumble? (the new movie) - awesome - NEW Trigun based on the Maximum manga series - a must see (and must read) for any Trigun fan or Vash fanatic (like me, even though I'm horrible with titles right now), Claymore - it's been a while, but I liked it - not one that would top my buy list, but I would buy it some day - another sad, tragic tale and I'm drawn to sad, tragic tales - this one reminded me of D's plight in Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but the two are in no way similar in any other way - Claymores are female warriors and there are no vampires here, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom - phenomenal - foreign travelers brainwashed into becoming master assassins for a Japanese mafia-type. The story is deep and layered (I'm into layers) and goes throughout years of their lives and how their "job" affects them. It centers on the male lead and his desire for freedom, but as we Americans like to say, "Freedom isn't Free" and that's exactly what he learns. I'd have to say that Phantom reminded me of Darker than Black, although they are a bit different. I'd have to watch DTB again, but right now I'd say Phantom is the better of the two. Bleach: Fade to Black - the 3rd movie in the Bleach series. Okay - so first, it's Bleach, so it's awesome, and second it focuses on Rukia, so Byakuya's in it, too - double awesome (I clearly have a thing for fake, hot guys). I've liked all of the Bleach movies, but this is my favorite so far - it let us further into the Kuchiki world than we've gotten and I love that Byakuya came around because of his late wife. We don't see much humanity or emotion from him, so that scene is one of my favorites.
Oh my gosh. I've done it again. Good grief. See? I can just go on, and on, and on. Finally, I bought Halloween socks with a bat on them that kind of resembles the bat symbol. How cool is that? Totally what I thought. Time for me to shut up.
So, for starters, So You Think You Can Dance is done. Chehon and Eliana won. YAY! (Even though I'm sad for Cyrus. Boo!) I found a lot of music through the season and through the "if you like this, you might this" feature on Amazon, so I have a "brand new" 6-hour playlist filled with a range of music from classical, dubsteb, and electronica. Woot! I even bought a cd - Gus Gus Arabian Horse. I < 3 them! (yes, I just did that. Check them out...I fell in love first with Believe (not on Arabian Horse) and Over (track 3 on Arabian Horse))
What else is new in the world as I see it? Well, my cat Neko (occasional substitute blogger whose name is the same as the Japanese word for cat even though we pronounce it with a long ee...see rambling?) - anyway, my cat Neko had to go to the emergency clinic the Thursday night before last and then to our local animal hospital on last Saturday morning, which is where she has resided ever since. She presented with bloody diarrhea and impacted anal glands. She was in a lot of pain. She is doing better, but is on three anti-biotics, subcu-IV fluids, and isn't in any shape to come home yet. :-(
In addition, Lucien, our alpha male (who is the biggest baby), had a bladder infection and the antibiotics made him sick. He spent over 6 days/nights in the hospital on two occasions (total) waiting for urine samples because he is such a stubborn little guy. He finally came home today with the okay to stop treatment and keep an eye on him. He's been cuddling ever since.
So, speaking of cuddling and health issues, I had to go to the doctor again yesterday and am in the process of setting up a potential surgical consult to follow the procedure I'm having done in a few weeks. SO, I've spent the day in bed cuddling with Lu and streaming Netflix while Tim and G-man work the Illini game.
Which leads to why I actually decided to write this post. I watched three movies today and as I write this, I'm starting an anime series (which I will restart to give it a proper watching): Kaze no Stigma (Stigma of the Wind, I believe). I recognize many of the voices, so while I'm not paying a lot of attention to it, I'm already intrigued just because of that.
Movie #1: The Caller - psychological horror/thriller. A woman going through a divorce moves into an apartment whose phone receives calls from a woman living in 1979. They strike up a friendship that soon turns sour...with dire consequences in the past and present. I liked it. The lighting, camera work, and coloring were all excellent at creating the atmosphere and setting the mood. I didn't really cringe every time the phone rang, which I imagine is what the director intended, but there was so much going on in the story, that the phone almost fell into the background. The movie has some heart-wrenching moments and others that make you just stop for a second, but it doesn't allow you much time to mourn or wonder because it keeps moving forward. The movie seems simple on the surface, but it's multilayered and intriguing. The mystery behind the caller is never explained. I like that because anything they came up would seem contrived and ruin the story. There were a few spots where I questioned why she didn't call the police, but those were easy to brush aside for the sake of the story. In the end, what needs to be explained has been explained and the story comes together in a near perfect way. It is tragic and beautiful with all of the layers, and even more so when extra time is taken to think about those layers. I can't make a call on the Nerdgirl scary scale - I don't think it's scary, especially not in the spooky sense, but there are a few places that could make someone jump (it is more psychological after all). There aren't any monsters and the only paranormal events are the phone calls. Everything else involves people (for example: the main character's abusive ex-husband). There are a few violent scenes, but they tend to build up and pass quickly, and I don't remember seeing a lot of blood, except in one scene, but even that is brief.
Movie #2: Audition - Japanese Horror (subtitled). Okay - so this movie has a cult following for the supposedly gratuitous and graphic torture scenes that (according to Wikipedia, so take that for whatever it's worth) made the movie hard for even Rob Zombie to enjoy. I've been curious. The Japanese are known for going over the top and I've seen some crazy torture stuff in anime, so I was more than a little curious about Audition. I just needed to know if I could stomach it. I decided to try. The movie runs about an hour an a half, and most of it focuses on the central story: a widower, 7-years after his wife's death, is urged by his teenage son to remarry. Together with a friend in the movie production business, he holds auditions to find the perfect woman. Of course, as you can probably guess, he doesn't choose wisely. However, since most of the movie focuses on him, his loneliness, his son, his son's ambitions, and then his excitement at falling in love with the perfect woman, I found myself relating to him and empathizing with him. Perhaps I would have been drawn in more had I not known anything about the woman. The parts that have made the movie so popular don't occur until the last 30 or even 20-minutes of the film, and the famous, "graphic" torture sequence is among the last in the film, and most of it is spent showing more of how much she's enjoying it than it is actually showing the torture. Okay, so here's my take on it - I'm very sensitive to things. I hate torture in movies, will not watch domestic or sexual violence, hate seeing animals get hurt or killed, etc. But I was almost laughing during the torture scene. It just seemed so out of place. Her character had shifted so drastically and without explanation, that her torture getup and her devices - the whole thing just seemed really out of left field (pardon the lack of a better expression). (Before anyone says anything about the "love only me" thing, I get that, and I get that she snapped when she saw the picture of his late wife, but even with that, it was a drastic shift.) And then the torture itself, by today's standards, with the Saw movies and whatnot, was VERY tame. There was hardly any blood and it really was more about her enjoying his pain and what she was doing than actually showing what she was doing. In my opinion, this will stay a cult hit, because it is one, but time has done the damage because movies have only gotten more violent. I've been more disturbed by the violence in the newest Bond films than I was by anything in Audition. Now, that said, because of that, I was able to enjoy the movie. I can see where the shock and awe factors were supposed to be, but in the end, I felt horrible for the widower and I felt sorry for her. But her story wasn't adequately told or something was lost in translation to bring about anything more than surface feelings for her because her end character did not match the character she had been throughout the movie. Even given that what I say is "tame torture" by today's standards...LATE EDIT: I've removed the Nerdgirl scary scale comment because I realized that I don't honestly know how she would rate this movie and she has a much stronger stomach than I do. So I've decided to rate this on my own scale, which makes more sense since I described my own tastes. This is not a movie that people like me or people sensitive to violence should watch. It is still sadistic. It is still torture. It is sad and tragic. I was only able to make it through because I researched the movie ahead of time, knew what to expect, had some previous experience with the genre in animated form, and got myself into a frame of mind to see it completely as a work of fiction (much easier to do with an anime, I have to say). If I had gone in blind and not prepared, I am certain parts of the movie and the end would have bothered me. However, even with all that, I stand by the my review.
Movie #3 The Perfect Host - dark comedy/thriller. Starring David Hyde Pierce, The Perfect Host has been on my watch list for a while, but I kept forgetting about it. A bank robber on the run crashes the wrong dinner party and regrets it...a lot. Skipping ahead - Nerdgirl - watch this!! This movie is so dark and hilarious, and David Hyde Pierce is absolutely perfect in his role. This movie was made for him. Just when the robber thinks he has control...um, no sir. You've just entered the Twilight Zone mind of a violent schizophrenic who likes to party. Between the drinking and the singing and the conga line and the dancing, and then the pool...there is so much to this "dinner party" as seen through the eyes of the robber and the eyes of Pierce that it's hard not to get swept up and just enjoy the "fun." Sometimes I wasn't sure how dark it was actually going to go, but that was part of how good it was. And there was more going on in the background, as well, such as flashbacks regarding the robber's life and why he robbed the bank, and discoveries detectives were making about his case. The former served to help the viewer feel sorry for the robber, since he appears initially as a cold-hearted jackass, while the latter seems misplaced and forced into the story because it needs to be there until everything is neatly tied together in the end. The thing about these other two parts is that while I was enjoying the dinner party and not trying to solve the case or look for twists, there were certain things that my mind would grab onto - little tidbits of information that only existed in the story because they were pertinent in some way. That is, after all, one of the first things we learn as writers - only add what's necessary (unless its a deliberate distraction, but hey, even that's necessary, right?). So I deliberately ignored those tidbits, just so I could enjoy the movie without solving it. And I'm glad I did because it was so much better that way. Excellent movie. I can't say that enough.
So I'll stop there. I have a two queries out and am working on a one-page synopsis. One. Page. X_X Ug.
Until my next ramble. Goodnight. Oh - it's a Bleach night! Yay! ^_^ Until then, back to Kaze No Stigma. Oh, and, although been it's on my watch list for awhile, since Adult Swim acquired the rights to show it, I've been watching Samurai 7 - it's starting out slow and one character in particular is rather annoying, but it's enjoyable. Plus it's based on Akira Kurosawa's film Seven Samurai, which the Bare Naked Ladies sung about in One Week (and Sailor Moon, too!). I'm not really a big BNL fan, though. I've also been forcing myself through Casshern Sins and that's starting to pay off. I think they could have tossed half of the eps and been better off. I've never seen the original. Other anime titles that I've watched and enjoyed lately (read: within the last year or so) include Gun X Sword (come on, its like Spike from Cowboy Bebop piloting Big O with a wee bit of Trigun mixed in there somewhere. How can that not be awesome?), Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne (adult title) - despite the gratuitous nature of adult titles, this one included, I liked the story and actually cried at the tragic turn, Trigun: Badlands Rumble? (the new movie) - awesome - NEW Trigun based on the Maximum manga series - a must see (and must read) for any Trigun fan or Vash fanatic (like me, even though I'm horrible with titles right now), Claymore - it's been a while, but I liked it - not one that would top my buy list, but I would buy it some day - another sad, tragic tale and I'm drawn to sad, tragic tales - this one reminded me of D's plight in Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, but the two are in no way similar in any other way - Claymores are female warriors and there are no vampires here, Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom - phenomenal - foreign travelers brainwashed into becoming master assassins for a Japanese mafia-type. The story is deep and layered (I'm into layers) and goes throughout years of their lives and how their "job" affects them. It centers on the male lead and his desire for freedom, but as we Americans like to say, "Freedom isn't Free" and that's exactly what he learns. I'd have to say that Phantom reminded me of Darker than Black, although they are a bit different. I'd have to watch DTB again, but right now I'd say Phantom is the better of the two. Bleach: Fade to Black - the 3rd movie in the Bleach series. Okay - so first, it's Bleach, so it's awesome, and second it focuses on Rukia, so Byakuya's in it, too - double awesome (I clearly have a thing for fake, hot guys). I've liked all of the Bleach movies, but this is my favorite so far - it let us further into the Kuchiki world than we've gotten and I love that Byakuya came around because of his late wife. We don't see much humanity or emotion from him, so that scene is one of my favorites.
Oh my gosh. I've done it again. Good grief. See? I can just go on, and on, and on. Finally, I bought Halloween socks with a bat on them that kind of resembles the bat symbol. How cool is that? Totally what I thought. Time for me to shut up.
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