Posts Tagged ‘Film’

Sweet, sweet eye candy from start till end, Nomura Tetsuya’s Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children is the ultimate culmination of the brilliant CG work conjured up by the artists at SquareEnix ( formerly SquareSoft ), dating back to the then revolutionary Squall Leonheart character in 1999. This time round what sets Advent Children apart from 2001’s FF Spirits Within is not so much the faithfulness it stays to the game’s original material, but more the presence of impossibly, devastatingly neat characters. Top that with sleek Anime style editing, photography and beautifully animated fight sequences, Nomura has created a film tailor made for FF fans, with none of that sanitized Hollywood treatment in sight. This is the definitive, bona fide Final Fantasy.

I dunno which galaxy these guys came from, but on the planet where I live, and I’m no linguistic expert here either, I dare wager desert dwellers in Mongolia sure as hell don’t speak Cantonese ( Lei hai bingor ? ). Cracked me up. Still, John Moore’s remake of the film Flight of the Phoenix does happen on this planet no ? Confusing.

Anyway, a phonecall from my concerned mother regarding the earthquake ( happens intermittently here, most Tokyoites including myself have learnt to be fairly nonchalant about it, unless the roof actually comes down on our heads. ) had me assuring her that all was fine ( I keep reminding her half-jokingly that if the Big One were to visit, which by the way is overdue for Tokyo, myself, together with half of Tokyo’s population would have long since coalesced with the remaining rubble by the time news hit Singapore shores. ) Anyway, passing the phone over to my brother as we caught up a bit I realized to my absolute horror I haven’t spoken english for so long it sounded…wierd, foreign even. Like that part in Dances With Wolves, if you know what I mean. Couple that with my half_f**ked Japanese, too, and a nightmarish evening is complete, together with cantonese speaking Mongolian desert dwellers.

Shimoyama Ten’s Shinobi is looking sharp with some impressive action sequences as seen from its trailer, but remembering the Kazuaki debacle that was Casshern, with equally promising visuals and a most attractive trailer, let’s not put in too much faith just as yet. Check out the official website here.

Anyway, attention on this post ought to have been dedicated to some writings on the excellent film Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders ( I can’t believe I’ve missed out on this film for so long even though it was shot 20 years ago ) that I just watched on film appreciation class in school yesterday, but I don’t have the time for a lengthy post right now. In any case, a viewing of the film will do infinitely more than reading off this blog, so please watch it.

Required viewing was in store for Doi Nobuhiro’s Ima, Ainiyukimasu, the biggest Japanese film for 2005 so far, picking up 3.8 million viewers. Despite been unabashedly melodramatic and saccharine, cliched even, *ahem*, I liked it. Perhaps an understanding of the original japanese dialogue added to the enjoyment of the film too. Take it as a guilty cinematic pleasure one indulges in every once in a while. *Mr Mckee, BFI S&S folks frowns disapprovingly*

Check out the Japanese Premium dvd boxset here.

In one of the ending sequences from Iwai Shunji’s Hana and Alice, Alice, one half of the film’s 2 main protaganists, turns up for a teenage magazine covergirl audition. Having been scouted by a talent agency early in the film but with several botched auditions so far ( including an excruciatingly hilarious Kitkat CM screentest ), she attends unenthusiastically, nonchalant at best. As her turn arrives she is quizzed on by the young hotshot director ( a cameo neatly performed by Osawa Takao, star of Sekainochushinde, aiwosakebu )about what she can do, but is quickly dismissed after replying “ballet”.

Unbeknownst to herself, she quips : ” Can I dance for real ? ” Taken aback by her spontaneity the director nods, and she arabesques away, the audition long forgotten as she lost herself in her own world of ballet. This burst of creative emancipation reminds me fondly of my own interview ( with a panel of 10 judges ) during my scholarship selection, for when quizzed on matters of filmmaking I had started out quivering but was soon taken over by a true sense of affection for the subject, and it can be truly wondrous to care passionately about something. Well, so I think.