I just want to call attention to the fact that there are a lot of great films playing at the UP Film Institute this month. I have the ones I’m interested in listed in the remember box to the left, but you should go to the website for the full schedule, in case there’s something I missed that you would like to see.

Did you know that in the months after 9/11, poetry books saw a massive spike in sales not seen since, well, decades? Almost as much as religious books.

Wired’s interview with Nintendo’s Hiroshi Yamauchi must be read to be believed, I shit you not. "HEY, BALLMER, WHY DON'T YOU SUCK MY TINY YELLOW BALLS?" Hilarious.

Ricky Gervais is going to write an episode of The Simpsons. :)

I can't remember a more depressing holiday season than this one. Just locally we had 2 bad typhoons one after the other, followed by floods and landslides resulting in multiple casualties and millions in property damage. Of course, there is the utter devastation that nature unleashed with an earthquake and subsequent tsunamis upon South Asia, which we were, luckily, spared. The death toll last I heard had passed the 120,000 mark, when just the other night it was 80,000. You can see some video footage of the tsunamis here. Just thinking about that kind of destruction can boggle the mind. Entire villages and coastlines rendered, entire families disappearing. I was watching BBC and they were interviewing this tourist in the hospital, and he was talking about how he was holding his son in his arms and when the wave hit his son just vanished. He was trying to get out of the hospital to join his family in the search for the boy but they wouldn't let him go because his injuries were still too severe for him to be moving about. The whole interview he was semi-weeping and it was just heartbreaking. And that's just one story out of thousands. So many people still haven't been accounted for, even, at one point, both Arthur C. Clarke and Jet Li.

Back to local, and just among people I know, some friends have lost family members, and others have broken up relationships.

This whole year has been kind of weird. There didn't seem to be a dominant feeling about it; there were good times, and there were bad times, but mostly a kind of blah-- punctuated occasionally by the good and bad. And maybe we hold on to those good and bad times as extreme points in contrast to everything else that was pretty much same ol', same ol'.

I'm not a very religious person. These holidays, I pretty much treat as a time for giving thanks.

This year my dad lost 2 siblings, his last living sister and his eldest brother. Both to cancer, which had already claimed his father and eldest sister. It came up during Christmas dinner, to think about what we've lost. It was an awkward moment for me, because I realized that my dad still has 3 brothers left. If I lost 2 siblings, I'd be alone. I wondered about families who would have their first Christmas dinner minus a family member. My tita who lost her husband, my tito who lost his wife. Friends who had lost family members. Even the De Venecias. Their youngest daughter had been in classes both Neva and I had taught. Though we didn't really know her, it's always sad when someone younger than you-- and someone that young-- dies. Someone I know died around Halloween. He was slightly younger than me, a fresh graduate. I didn't know him very well either, in fact I'd only been with him twice, but both times we had genial talks about photography; at the time I was saving up to buy an LC-A and he wanted to get my Quad Cam. When someone younger than you dies it's always a sharper reminder of your own mortality. You feel like it shouldn't happen, which I imagine any parent feels when their own child dies before them.

Is that what we are left with, at the end of the year? To take comfort in that things could've been much, much worse, and in the light of all these surrounding tragedies, we got off lucky? Look around you, at your family members who are still with you, friends and loved ones thankfully in good health. A home and hopefully a job, with clothes and food and things you love: books or comics or films or music or art. Hug them a little tighter, laugh at their jokes a little louder, appreciate things a little better.

Giving thanks.

It's more than enough.

In the department of people with too little to do, someone has made the Michael Jackson video "Thriller" using nothing but Legos. And on this forum, some guys have started photoshopping stills out of Lord of the Rings. Most are crap, but one or two show some kind of clever wit behind them. Examples:

Randy Lander has an article up about his favorite comic covers of 2004. I agree with some of them, particularly the work of James Jean (who has an artbook coming out in March), Jock, Jim Rugg (great attention-getting covers for a new series), Tony Moore, Frank Quitely (inspired covers for We3), and Mike Huddleston (a very underrated artist). I love Jo Chen's art as well.

But something that I suspected has been confirmed, and it is very very exciting. And if anyone's interested, that's what I want for Christmas next year. Can I get a yeah-ha?!

Not only is there a Clive Owen Sin City poster (finally!), but the trailer's out! And it looks awesome.

The Get Shorty sequel Be Cool has its trailer up, and I'm a bit disappointed that it's not Barry Sonnenfeld directing, but it is nice to see Chilli Palmer again. The Weather Man, after The Family Man & Matchstick Men, may see Nicolas Cage typecast more than he already is, but I actually liked this trailer, and just hope that Gore Verbinski can deliver the emotional goods, the way I was surprised by Brett Ratner's The Family Man. Doug Liman's remake of Mr. & Mrs. Smith doesn't really interest me, other than the action scenes. Hope it'll surprise me too. And via Jason, Appleseed is looking sweeter and sweeter.

Also, check out Woody Allen's Melinda & Melinda & Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.

July 16 sees the publication of Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince.

This Red Meat strip reminded me of a specific scene in Spaced:

Sorry, been busy, I've been meaning to post...

I saw 2046 again, last Sunday, by myself, at the refurbished Greenhills theaters. It was my first time there since it was renovated, and the shape of the theaters sucks. It's very wide, so when I thought I was choosing a seat in the middle of the theater I thought I'd be a good distance from the screen, but not close enough to the rear that you can hear the projector whirring, which I grew to hate especially during all those Film Festivals they used to have at Shangri-La Plaza (which has since also refurbished its theaters, though I haven't been yet). But no. Despite being in the middle of all the seats available I was still too close to the screen for my comfort, and just felt sorry for everyone else sitting in front of me, which was nobody. There were unfortunately only less than 10 people, and the couple to my right left after about 30 minutes. The family of 3 seated behind me I was walking behind when the film ended, and the daughter who was about my age hated it, remarking "What was with their hair?" which had me remarking, "You fucking imbecile you should've been aborted," although I said it in my head, not out loud. But the dad liked it, and the mom didn't speak. So points for daddy, but sorry, your daughter's a doorknob.

By and large, my initial impression hasn't changed. I do really like the film very much, and focused on different details this time around. I think I have a better appreciation of the structure this time around, too. The beginning part is intended to be confusing because it's still out of context, which is provided later (and repeated, in case you really don't get it). The character arc of Chow Mo-wan is more coherent to me now, especially with the favor to Bai Ling at the end, AFTER the Faye Wong sequence.

The film really is ripe for examination and speculation. What's the story behind Gong Li's hand? Why was futuristic Takuya Kimura injured after departing 2046? Is it meant to be a literal translation of Chow's emotional injuries? Where is the significance of 2046 in regards to what it means for Hong Kong? Harvey has an idea, but if anyone else can shed more light on this I'm all ears. I have this idea of 2046 being an ideal for the character of Chow Mo-wan, because it was in that room that he had his happiest moments with Maggie Cheung's Su Lizhen, and that's why it represents, in his fiction, a happy place where nothing ever changes, and thus, no one ever leaves. I think that was his dream: to recapture, or return to that room, and never leave (I think dialogue with a similar tone/spirit is in one of the deleted scenes of In the Mood, but I'm not sure).

I'm now less convinced of Chow's feelings for Bai Ling. Not to belittle Bai-- if you remember, the story stayed with her more than it did Chow for a good while. Her feelings were intensely genuine, and now that I think about it their whole relationship was another echo of Days of Being Wild. How Chow treated Bai, Leslie Cheung's character treated both Maggie Cheung and Carina Lau. I don't think Chow saw Faye Wong as a challenge, either. I think that she reminded him of Maggie Cheung's Su Lizhen (the writing helps). Perhaps this is why he wanted to help her with her relationship despite its circumstances. If he couldn't have his happy ending, he could at least help encourage others to find theirs. Almost a romantic notion, that in an alternate universe, he and Su Lizhen could've ended up together.

Also, little smatterings: Takuya Kimura was EXCELLENT. The first and last shot are the same: the resting place of the secret, which was also the last shot of In the Mood. The smeared lipstick of Gong Li in the beginning, which Neva first brought to my attention, being explained in the end.

Any film that has inspired this much thought given me so much to chew on has to be on my list of favorite movies of the year.

The only place it's showing now (practically) is Glorietta 4. Only lasted a week in most places. :(

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Christmas traffic has now reached the point where I don't want to leave the house anymore. My blood pressure goes up, I swear like a sailor and basically get into a rabid bloodthirsty berzerker rage. The worst part of it is I sometimes end up in a bad mood whenever I get to where I'm heading, which is bad news if it's a party, or meeting up with Neva.

The better-quality new Batman Begins trailer is up. And here's the trailer for Constantine, which bears no resemblance to the character I have enjoyed reading since high school.

Here's a short film adapting a short Sin City story. Not bad.

NICE AND SMOOTH

A new Batman Begins teaser trailer can be viewed here, though a better-quality version is expected Monday.

And here is the teaser for Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds, for next summer. That was fast. I thought this was still a ways off. Proudly claiming the "most expensive movie ever" tag.

A second teaser poster for Batman Begins, also tres cool, and, more than the first, actually looks like it's been ripped from the pages of a comic book.

Terrence Malick's first film since The Thin Red Line, The New World, has a trailer. And here's the trailer for Tim Burton's Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. It looks like a scary film. Good. Would you like to see the full uncensored sex scene deleted from Team America? Pervert.

Brother, can you spare $20 million? I'm thinking of buying myself a submarine. You know, for when I feel like going to Boracay over the weekend.

An Oldboy toy! Wicked!

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[minor spoilage]

So. 2046.

It did not blow me away. I like it a lot; maybe I even love it but just don't know it yet (I still have to see it maybe 2 more times). At first, I was going to write "I don't know if I'm blown away by it" but then thought to myself "Well, if I'm not entirely sure about that, then it definitely means I wasn't." Being blown away is not a state of uncertainty.

This is not a terribly bad thing, because honestly, it was near-impossible to meet my expectations, built up over 5 years of half-starts and still-in-progress-es, and the director (one of my favorites)'s previous work.

I love so many scenes, so many moments, but structurally I did not find it organic. Unlike with In the Mood for Love, I felt more at a distance with 2046, like I couldn't really get to know the characters the way I wanted to. Maybe that's intentional, maybe it's something on my part.

As always, I love the music. Wong Kar-wai's always been good with that, though some people have found the repetition of certain songs annoying. I'm not sure if it's the first time he's used opera, but he uses it to good effect here, and bringing back songs from Days of Being Wild struck a nostalgic chord. This underscores very well those parts where he links 2046 to characters from Days of Being Wild and In the Mood for Love. I was also delighted to hear Kieslowski regular Zbigniew Preisner's work included. And as usual, he continues to be inspired by Latin American music, particularly with the song that introduces Bai Ling (Zhang Ziyi).

As far as cinematography goes, I have to admit I was expecting a bit more. Though the feeling isn't really disappointment. The use of color is excellent, but the composition of shots and movement of camera was a little more reserved, a little restrained. Which, considering the subject matter, I thought wouldn't be the case. There weren't moments or stylishly-cut sequences that made my jaw drop. The closest thing was the occasional juxtaposition of 2 shots, usually conversation scenes. And one shot of the Carina Lau android going from sorrow to glee (and red to blue) in a split-second. But again, this means more concentration on the narrative, not necessarily a bad thing.

Relating the films together satisfies a fanboy aspect of me but I have to wonder about how it affects the characters from a macro point of view. Are we to understand that Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung) was in Days of Being Wild (the very last, seemingly useless scene), and in the unseen wake of the events of that film met/consoled Carina Lau, then got married to someone for In the Mood, then, broken by the events in that film, becomes a cad in 2046? That's some arc! Why is he such an asshole to Bai Ling, when it's hinted he may have found the closest thing to genuine feeling (or did I just answer my own question)? And, in the next "episode," why is he so nice and encouraging and supportive to Faye Wong's character? I would like to think it's not merely because of a superficial attraction.

I have a massive crush on Faye Wong. Ever since I saw Chungking Express. I remember making my family wait while I finished A Chinese Odyssey 2002 (produced by Kar-wai, shot by Doyle, starring Tony Leung, Faye Wong, Chang Chen, and Vicki Zhao; watch it, it's cute fun) at my cousin's place, even though they already wanted to go home. Remember the Melissa Auf Der Maur post? The next of that kind was supposed to be Faye Wong, and it's been sitting half-written in some file for months now. I successfully kept my cool when I found out Quark saw her in Taipei (and a little saddened to hear of some diva-ish behavior). I didn't realize HOW much I'd missed her until I saw her onscreen. She didn't look like she'd aged a bit. The same big, inviting eyes, same cute nose, the same cute expressions that look like they were headed for another emotion but stopped short. It was an utter delight to see her again, hear her voice, see her move. Do you remember what she was saying in Japanese? It gains more relevance later in the film, after more information is disclosed.

It's interesting to watch the scenes set in the future, or the storyworld of "2046," because you have to look at it, at least, on 2 levels. Simply, as narrative, what transpires between the characters, and underneath that, as extensions of what Chow feels towards his life and the characters that orbit him, and how he disguises/masks/subverts those feelings. Because of the characters orbiting Chow, I feel that 2046 is more of a spiritual successor to Days of Being Wild than In the Mood was (and initially hyped as).

Alexis and I still wonder if this is really the final, final cut, because Chang Chen and Maggie Cheung seem to be excised from the film almost completely. Also, there are continuity errors. Big, glaring ones like wasn't a certain character dead? How did they turn up again later in the movie? And of Bai Ling, Chow Mo-wan says "That's the last time I ever saw her"-- TWICE. Mysteries remain, like what's the story with the black-gloved hand? In a more tsismis vein, what's with the naming of a character after a famous Chinese actress who was exiled for acting in Red Square and had a hiccup of a scandal involving Doyle earlier in the year?

I've been thinking a lot about storytelling recently, and the devices/tricks at hand. I'm more analytical towards 2046 than I expected. Partly because I was re-reading articles on Wong Kar-wai films (coming again, I suppose, from the level of excitement/anticipation that preceded it). So I'm looking at what he's using again: repeating patterns, both in the film and in the structure of the film. Echoed/underscored by music, dialogue. Voice-over narration. Themes explored: longing, coping, memory, the passing of time. Where would Wong Kar-wai be without narrow corridors, too few places to eat (so characters could keep bumping into one another against their will), and hotels that only have one phone? In a way, again, a fanboy part of me is welcoming to these elements. But also a small part of me demands the new. One of the great things about In the Mood was it was made as a reaction to Wong Kar-wai style being appropriated by everyone else. So he abandoned his trademark voice-over, tried some new tricks and it was great. He got to this great "show over tell" aesthetic that I was somewhat hoping to see here. But the voice-over narration favors the "tell over show" style, especially when he returns to a full ensemble cast and not the laser-intense focus on 2 characters that In the Mood was. At times, though, the voice-over felt like spackle applied to the gaps in story and continuity. Hence my impression of lack of organic development. I suppose this is an effect of Kar-wai's process. Since he has no script, the story comes together in a very unique way, and to cover up gaps he has to use narration. This connects with what I mentioned earlier about feeling at a distance: without narration in In the Mood, I was more taken in by the characters' stories, because it unfolds in front of me at the same time it does to them. In 2046, we are told what happened. Sometimes it's already in the past, sometimes the narrator wasn't there to see it but was told the story, and is now relating it to us. This is maybe unavoidable with so many characters, but that intimacy and shared experience is sacrificed. The problem with too many characters is you can't give time to each, not as much as you'd want, and you end up short-changing some or a lot of them. Think about it: what do we really know about some of the characters in the film? What we're told by Chow. Because there just isn't enough space to show scenes denoting character; the "plot," as it were, must go on.

I'm a little wary about writing this now, because I wonder if my opinions will change upon the second and third viewings.

Anyway, sorry this went so long. Just thinking out loud.

ADDED: After re-reading the above, I want to reiterate that I really do like the film very much. :)

Out of the blue, after 5 years of waiting...

2046 comes out today! Hurrah!

And Jonathan Glazer's Birth. And Takashi Miike's One Missed Call. Both of which mark the first time their respective directors have had films in our theaters. A very good thing indeed, especially since there hasn't been ANYTHING interesting since The Incredibles came out!

Another reason to love Iain Banks: he writes "the most impressive re-read this year has been Voice of the Fire by Alan Moore (Top Shelf Productions Inc.), a neglected masterpiece." in his recommendations to Guardian readers (he also mentions Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle & China Mieville's Iron Council).

Another great car ad (and super-cute at the same time).

Fuck yeah! Please be good. Please please please.

I'm trying not to keep my hopes up, so I won't be too disappointed if it blows, and I'll be totally blown away if it rules the earth. But they do make it difficult...

June 17! Can you believe it's so far away!?

Oh yeah, and Chris Columbus is going to direct the Sub-Mariner movie... after he's done with Rent! Oh, the poor Rent & Sub-Mariner fans...

WATCH THIS!!! NOW!

Is it the best ad ever? I think it may well be. All my geek/fanboy molecules started shaking when I saw it. The live-action TransFormers film in development better kick this shit into the ground! Or there will be bloodshed!

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How sweet. Godzilla got his own Hollywood star, at the age of 50. Supposedly the next one, Godzilla Final Wars, will be the last, but you just never know with this guy...

There are some new Mirrormask pics here. And it's been a while since we've had any Red Meat...

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Looking for inexpensive books? Try knocking up Dating Kundiman. Tell 'em I sent ya.

Here's a nice article by Jonathan Franzen (author of The Corrections) about Peanuts and his childhood.

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Here's another thing that looks mighty interesting: a DVD collaboration between This American Life's Ira Glass, composer Philip Glass, and cartoonist Chris Ware, called "Lost Buildings." It's a story, narrated by Ira, with music by Philip, and hundreds of illlustrations by Ware. Thing is, it's only 22 minutes, and I don't know how much it is (but it comes with a nifty 96-page book). Still, I checked the preview, and liked what I saw. I like to see the possibilities with this kind of storytelling being explored. I especially like the reveals of larger illustrations from a small detail.

Some sad news as arguably the best comic store this country's seen closes its doors. :(

Original message follows:

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CLOSING SALE

30% to 50% off on Comics and Manga

from December 1 - 18
Store Hours: 10am to 530pm, Monday to Saturday

It has been a pleasure serving you for the past three years. We have met so
many wonderful people and learned so much about life, business and ourselves.
We thank you for your loyal patronage.

CCHQ

**For those with consignments or reservations with us, please settle your
business by December 10, 2004.

CLICKY

You trust me, right? Then download this. Watch. Enjoy.

It was made by a fan. I think I like it as much as the real one.

Here is the ad for 24 Season 4. No spoilers, really, for those who haven't seen Season 3 yet, except that *gasp!* Jack survived! I guess the news of no other returning cast members wasn't entirely accurate, because Chloe's here, which is good. I imagine they'll turn up later on in the season, in different ways than expected. Reminds me of Traffic a lot.

Huh. 2046 is already on DVD.

The new Chabon-edited McSweeney's anthology came out already.

Are you filthy rich? Don't know what to do with your money? How about buying me this for Christmas? That's every single title in the Criterion Collection. The ones still in print, anyway.

Forgot to link these weird-ass Japanese McDonald's commercials. One with a metrosexual, another with a woman. Not that just having a metrosexual or, God forbid, a woman makes it weird, but they're wearing-- ah, just watch it.

What a splendid, lazy day! :)

Last night's Ciudad Anniversary gig was great. Congrats to both the band and Kathy, who organized it. I was glad to see the videos that I hadn't seen yet, and some people I hadn't seen in a while. Gweilo's Eastwood has a kind of "Later with Jools Holland" feel to it, what with the band performing area in the middle of the room as opposed to against some wall. The lighting gave it that impression too. The problem was, and this is a biggie to me: THE VENTILATION WAS SHIT. Smoke fucking everywhere! I hated it, Neva hated it, even other smokers hated it. At one point I was sitting near 3 girls who were all smoking, and I had to get out of the room because my eyes were stinging and I wanted to stab their breasts. A minute later, Mico came out for the exact same reason. I really wish the smoking ban was nationwide. Who'da thought I'd thank Binay for something?

It really sucks when you get home, and you're so tired you just want to get to bed, but even though you've changed, you catch a whiff of yourself and smell like a goddamn ashtray. It makes the blood boil instantly. I don't understand how smokers kiss each other. How do they stand it? Neva's got a screed going on her blog, I'm still thinking about what to put in mine.

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Current wallpaper:

Neva and I have become obsessed with The Office. It has been described by The New Yorker, of all snobs, as "perfect." And it may well be. Of course, that's subjective. But we utterly, utterly love it. We love it so much we know the theme song by heart. We love it so much that at random times of the day we'll crack up by ourselves because we just remembered a scene. We love it so much we were fighting over who would use the computer first because we both wanted to go to the official website. This, after going through all 12 episodes of the main series. There were only 2 seasons (called "series" in the UK), 6 episodes each, and then a 2-part Christmas special, each part an hour long (collectively called The Office Special). We haven't seen The Office Special, and are dying to. DYING, do you hear?! The ending of Series 2 isn't so much a cliffhanger as it is a downer, and with the prospect of more material, the suspense is unbearable. I almost succumbed to reading online synopses. When I look for websites where I can download the Special I only see part 2. :(

It is supremely funny, despite not adhering at all to the typical sitcom format. There is no laugh track, no music either. It's not taped in front of a live audience. There aren't even any set-ups like punchlines, etc. Its format is the mockumentary, and the humor comes from the characters. But one of the things I love most about The Office, and something that seems to be common to some of the best British comedy, is that, underneath the surface of everything, SOMETHING SERIOUS IS BEING SAID, but with such grace, style, and subtlety that it never comes across as preachy or self-important. And if you pick up on it, you feel better for it because it's something you worked at, it's like a reward you earned instead of something that had to be handed to you on a silver platter.

The show can also take turns to drama at the drop of a hat, and these scenes are just as effective as the humorous ones. The romance between Dawn and Tim, for example, is almost achingly painful to watch, because of their circumstances. And since the format is a mockumentary, it results in something interesting: all their movements, flirtations, gestures are careful, guarded almost, because their characters are under the impression that they're being watched by cameras. So it perfectly loads the smallest things: a laugh, a glance, a pat on the shoulder-- with so much meaning and almost-yearning that it makes you want to rip out your hair.

My favorite character is Tim, played by Martin Freeman. He has the best sense of humor, and his expressions are priceless. I looked him up on IMDB and was surprised to find that I'd seen him lots of places before: in Ali G In Da House (yes, I saw it; the first half's not bad); as the male porno actor in Love, Actually; he has a cameo in Shaun of the Dead; in fact he was in a short film that played at the Edinburgh Film Festival. And I'm gladdened to see that he was given the role of Arthur Dent in next year's Hitchhiker's Guide film. I hope it's good. He deserves to be big.

Of course, consequent research has turned up that NBC is making an American version of The Office for their '05 season, with the name The Office: An American Workplace (ugh). I don't know, I can't help but feel that this is bad news, even if series creators/writers/directors Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are executive producers, the writer's Greg Daniels (alum of SNL, The Simpsons, and Seinfeld), and the guy they got to be their "David Brent" is the hilarious Steve Carell. Early rumors decry the show as tripe. Oh well.

Do you have, or know someone who has, The Office Special (the 2-episode Christmas specials that conclude the series)? And would you lend it to me?

PLEASE? WE'RE DESPERATE!!! WE HAVE TO KNOW HOW IT TURNS OUT!!!

Come to Ramon.

Well, actually I'm not going to be able to afford this for a while. And I'm still a little torn between it and this:

What would you get? Whatever happens, I'm already saving up for this:

And I'm also thinking of this, which I have a soft spot for.

I really thought I had linked to John M. Ford's 110 Stories before, but I can't seem to find it in the archives. Anyway, it's a poem about 9/11, one of the better ones I've seen. And some guys made a short film about it, and it's pretty affecting. Watch it here. And some Neil Gaiman fans who are taking up production design made a "book trailer" for Coraline that's pretty damn good.

Susanna Clarke of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell fame wrote a short story for the New York Times on Halloween. You can read that here.

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TRAILERS FOR YOUR TUMMEH!

The trailer for Danny Boyle's latest film, Millions, is up here, but I can't seem to get it to work. This is the adaptation of Frank Cottrell Boyce's book of the same name, which is great fun; buy and read it if you see it. I really hope the movie's good. :)

Finally, the Ocean's 12 trailer, the one with actual people in it. David Gordon Green's latest, Undertow, looks to be a departure from his previous works, and is produced by Terence Malick.

Pedro Almodovar's latest, Bad Education, as well as the new offering from Alejandro Amenabar, The Sea Inside. Walter Salles's US remake of Hideo Nakata's Dark Water.

Speaking of Hideo Nakata, the teaser for The Ring 2, from an original story by Ehren Kruger.

And the US trailer for Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A Very Long Engagement.

I don't know anything about this film High Tension, and this trailer would be pretty normal, if not for the clever use of Sonic Youth's cover of The Carpenters' "Superstar." Check it out.

And in case you still haven't seen the Episode 3 teaser, you can probably find it here. It's a fine teaser trailer, but I really have no real hopes for this. I want to be wrong, though.

I love that the poster of A Very Long Engagement is hanging in Greenbelt, while the posters for Kung-Fu Hustle AND 2046 are beside each other in Greenbelt 3.

LAST-MINUTE ADDITION: a promo reel for Fantastic Four has leaked onto the web. This may disappear soon. I am really not excited at all for this. The cast doesn't really interest me, the suit of The Thing looks like it's made of papier-mache, and I don't think Jessica Alba should be blond.

After 86 YEARS, the Boston Red Sox won the Pennant. Kinda puts the whole Ateneo-beating-La Salle in a pathetic perspective, eh?

Man, I would LOVE to be in Boston right now. I really miss the place. :(

They must be going kah-ray-zee.

I have been a zombie the last couple of days. Mostly still trying to catch up on a crapload of books and DVDs, when not trying to cram in/finish due articles. During a few days I was actually able to finish Takeshi Kitano’s Yakuza trilogy, George Romero’s Trilogy of the Dead, and managed to squeeze in Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure and Jean-Luc Godard’s Contempt. All quite brilliant, thankfully. Not a bad one in the bunch. As for movies that are out right now, my favorite parts of Shark Tale were the ones referring to other films, but Sky Captain is fun and a half! They really got to cram in all these genre staples of old pulps, and the Spielberg influence is unashamedly on display. And House of Flying Daggers is out, go see it. Open Water was alright, but nothing unmissable. I finally finished McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales! It really does take me longer to finish anthologies. Anyway, an excellent collection, more hits than misses, and damn can Chabon entice. I am actually having a quasi-difficult time deciding what to read next...

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People who passed away recently:
Jacques Derrida
Christopher Reeve
Janet Leigh
Rodney Dangerfield

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The other week I gave a talk to some kids about comics, which was fun, even though I didn’t have much time to prepare and thus was going along on the fly. Still, I was happily surprised that they were Asterix readers, which definitely did half the work for me already as I just had to address certain things like suggested movement and exaggeration of expression.

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Photobucket have inevitably set a ceiling for their service: 25 MB. Otherwise you have to start paying. Oh well, here we go again...

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Make with the click-click: The Ring 2 teaser (new story, and original director Hideo Nakata), and the long-awaited new Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A Very Long Engagement (Alexis said he saw this trailer attached to House of Flying Daggers, a very good sign indeed).

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The new REM (Around the Sun) didn’t impress me. But the posthumous new Elliott Smith (From a Basement on the Hill) has been on repeat in my room. The first time I heard it I almost felt like crying, wondering if these would be the last "new" songs I ever hear from one of my favorite songwriters. :(

Who would like to get the Bone: One Volume Edition I continue to rave about at a discount? Send me your info on the comments, please. And do it ASAP!

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The Japanese boyfriend pillow's been in the news recently. But wouldn't you rather have the Godfather horse head pillow instead?

I know I would.

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House of Flying Daggers is beautiful. It's got all these influences in it: dance, opera, music. It's got more layers than I thought it would. I particularly enjoyed that the fight scenes this time out didn't just feature exceptional choreography but a genuine consideration of setting. It's sometimes not about the cool moves but the mood and rhythm of a scene, where the thrust and parry is more about relentlessness and less about actually trying to conquer the opponent. There are also some tricks and visual treats that will leave your mouth agape. Who would've imagined that Zhang Yimou, of all people, would be so good at making wuxia action epics? And seemingly invent all these new tricks and moves? I wish I knew how he visualizes these things.

They played a bad 2046 trailer at the beginning. I hope this is a good sign.

Saturday's puppet show was awesome! It was 2 Spanish fellows, dressed entirely in black, manipulating puppets on a long table, with only a bunch of candles as illumination. The main puppets weren't marionettes, but some of the supporting one-off chracters were. Thankfully it wasn't in Spanish, or even in English-- it was all gibberish. Which you can pull off if it's Quixote. I sometimes wondered, though, what the experience was like for those who had no idea at all what Quixote was about. Anyway, it was obvious they knew their stuff, and had performed this many, many times. They were perfectly timed with the music playing over the speakers, and they knew their cues. Occasionally one of the guys would drop out of sight to prepare the next backdrop or characters, leaving only one person to control the puppets. But when both men operate one puppet, like in the beginning, the movement is incredible. Graceful, accurate, and just so alive and expressive that it made me feel like a kid again. I did love the fact, though, that I could be so entranced by the puppet, but just look up a few inches and there would be the puppeteers, faces acting out emotions as the gibberish spilled forth. Occasionally the puppets would actually acknowledge the puppeteers, maybe ask them to do this and that, or chastise them with a look for prying, and in this, again, the fact that it was Quixote didn't hurt. The music was good, the set construction ingenious, and the whole thing was just terrific. Even though I was dog-tired I was really glad I went. There was an interesting effect achieved at the end, when, one by one, the candles were snuffed out, making it the theatrical equivalent of a fade to black. Brilliant.

After the show, they left the puppets on the table and while some people were shy at first, I thought I might never see these kinds of puppets again and so bounded up the steps to look at them up close and actually try them out. They were papier-mache, and a little heavier than I expected, but as usual, the eyes were eerily realistic, and reflected light really well.

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I finished The Passion and, yay, it was also very good. It had much more plot than I thought it would, but as ever, Winterson's strength is her language, and she convincingly posits love as both irresistible force and immovable object. I was surprised at how short it was. The fact that the two narrators sometimes had the exact same thoughts/observations/conclusions reminded me of Haruki Murakami's Hard-Boiled Wonderland & The End of the World. Speaking of Murakami, when the fuck is he coming out with a new novel in English? It's been years since Sputnik Sweetheart!

Have begun McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, edited by Michael Chabon.

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On the heels of the 2046 trailer, it's the first footage from Mirrormask. Thankfully, the thing I was unsure of, the music, isn't from the film. No hint of a story, just some beautiful images.

The project Wong Kar-Wai is developing with Nicole Kidman is called The Lady From Shanghai. I'm not sure yet if it's a remake of the Orson Welles film or not.

New trailers: the new Birth trailer, Days of Being Wild is going to be released in the US, the new Incredibles, and the new Jean-Pierre Jeunet, A Very Long Engagement.

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Sometimes while reading someone's blog entry, in the midst of it you're already reacting, and maybe forming what will become, supposedly, a comment. But then the post in question arrives effortlessly at the conclusion that you did, and serves as a gentle reminder of why this person is a friend, and someone whose blog you read. Such is the case with Colleen's recent post.

And if I may mention, Neva's recent posts have been reminding me why she's under Blog Inspirations on the left. She makes it look easy. It comes very naturally to her, even if she doesn't see it sometimes.

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Today was very satisfying, in that I re-organized my bookshelves. At the end, I was just staring at it, and smiling slightly to myself. I like seeing what I've read, and am slightly daunted at what remains unread, but excited all the same.

I'm in such a reading mood! I keep telling myself to set aside time to catch up on all these DVDs I haven't seen, but I end up staying in my room trying to finish a few more pages of whatever it is I happen to be on.