Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea - sweet, imaginative, and extremely trippy. Enjoyed it immensely, and is one of those films that is just enjoyable and, well, nice. I like nice, it is so rare these days. The animation in this is pitch-perfect.

Thumbs up.

Is a series of fights.

Sommers seemed to have taken all the fight sequences from Star Wars, mixed it up and put it all back together without the intensity or any of the emotional resonance.

I could not understand what Channing Tatum was saying about 80% of the time. How is this guy hot? Hell, how is he an actor?

On the upside; Sienna Miller is pretty hot as the Baroness, and OMFG! Byung-hun Lee is SHIRTLESS in this film! I LOVE Byung-hun Lee and would like to aggressively lick him.

Oh, and the children in this film is all sort of awesome cakes.

In conclusion; I can't believe it cost $175 million to make this film. I wish Star Trek was still showing at the cinemas.

Saw Transformers: ROF. I LIKE! Much more fun than Terminator and the action sequences are much better done than Wolverine. So, my current ranking for summer blockbusters;

• Star Trek – I love this film to bits. It made me love Kirk, and live long and prosper is the best f-off ever. SQUEE!


• Transformers: ROF – Just fun, and OPTIMUS PRIME! OMFG! I LOVE YOU, PRIME! And BUMBLEBEE! And just so very awesome when the Autobots and the Decepticons tear into each other. I honestly didn’t mind the lack of exposition, why bother rehashing what the audience already know?


• Wolverine – EEEE! GAMBIT! You are so pretty.


• Terminator – INDIFFERENCE ahoy!

Waiting for the new Harry Potter film to be released, I WANTS!

Saw the film - style over substance, shallow is also a nice term. Much homage to the first film, but still meh. May talk about this later but mostly I shall go and re-watch the The Sarah Connor Chronicles to make myself feel better.

That is, Star Trek is the better film.

ETA: Bale is NOT John Connor.

I'm not disappointed so much as completely indifferent. *SIGHS*.

The casting is superb.

The first 5 mins left me in tears (I blame hormones).

The introduction of the characters left me breathless.

The humour was spot-on.

The Enterprise, oh, the Enterprise.

I need to re-watch this.

ETA:I would have never imagined 'Live long and prosper' can sound like 'Fuck you.'

Saw it today. It was pretty much what I expected, OK. I was completely unspoiled for the film so there were some parts about the Origin story I dimly remember from the comics and some that just made me go “WHAT?!”. It was a mishmash of plots, characters and just stuff that made me question my comics history, and mostly made me remember that Marvel’s tendency to retconned everything leaves it extremely difficult what part was canon and what part was alternative. Mostly I just gave up and attempted to enjoy the film for what it was.

Hugh Jackman is a great actor, I tend to forget this fact, but yes, he did awesome for a script that was at times rather dumb. I LOVE GAMBIT! Yes, the accent was rather lacking, but holy-shit I’m kinda happy I didn’t have to decipher Gambit’s Cajun accent that I can’t even read without wanting to hit something. So, um, yay? The fact is Taylor Kitsch is really hot, and he can pull off the charm like no one else, I just wish they had a shirtless scene of him. Also, OMFG! Ryan Reynold as Deadpool is awesome, but he should have had MORE screentime! And finally – OMFG! BABY!SCOTT! JUST YES! SCREW YOU PEOPLE, I LOVE SCOTT WITH THE PASSION OF A THOUSAND BURNING SUNS! SO, SUCK IT!

One other thing; the opening credit was fecking epic, and I kind of love it for that, but otherwise it was pretty much a very standard superhero/revenge film. I think that’s its downfall, it is such a standard superhero film. This MAKES me WANT Iron Man 2. PLEASE! NOW!

ETA: Also, I did NOT realise she was Silverfox till the partner told me. And even then it took me FOREVER to remember her, because I SWEAR she was more awesome, and had way more interesting powers! I may be wrong here.

Not as ghei as the first one, thus, slightly disappointed, but otherwise it was OK. The car races were awesome, but the really skinny chicks to creeped me out. In conclusion, it is exactly what you expect this film would be like.

( Why no one mentioned this )

And DBSK’s Rising Sun was in the film! For about 20 seconds!

Saw the preview of the new Star Trek film… um, the preview made it look really bad.

So, apparently still SLEEPY sick.

I saw Antique the other day, the Korean version of Fumi Yoshinaga’s Antique Bakery. OMFG! I’m in love with the film. It is one of the best adaptations of the original manga I have ever seen… well, it beats the J-drama of it years ago, though apparently there is a new J-drama of the manga series, but seriously, NOT interested, because this film is AWESOME and just absolutely perfect.

The story, for those of you who don’t know; Jin Hyeok, an heir to a corporate fortune with the money, intelligence and looks to do anything he wants in life decide that he wants to open a cake shop in the hope of meeting women because, well, more women buy cakes than men. He decides to hire Seon Woo, one of the most talented pâtissier around, who is gay, and back during his high school days had a crush on Jin Hyeok, which Jin Hyeok reciprocated by a cake to the face and some very bad words, um, yeah, some issues there. To make matters more complicated Seon Woo is deadly with his charms, and men have a tendency to fall in love with him when he turn those charms on, except Jin Hyeok for some reason is completely immune to them, so they can only hire men to work at the shop. Together with Ki-beom, an ex-boxing champion and Soo Yeong, a clueless bodyguard, the four of them work in their cake shop, Antique.

The pacing of this film is insane yet it never feels rushed. It goes from drama to comedy to drama to comedy. Unfortunately being a two hour film, it can only focus on Jin Hyeok and Seon Woo’s issues and relationship, and oh boy, do the two of them have issues, while briefly touching on Ki Beom’s decision to quit boxing and Soo Yeong... well, it deals with Soo Yeong. It introduces a series of relatively important supporting characters through an awesome musical number. Yes, musical number, the first half of the film is crammed with at least 3 musical numbers all involving baking and cake in some way, shape or form. It is awesome.

The casting is sublime; Joo Ji Hoon as Kim Jin Hyeok (Tachibana), Kim Jae Wook as Min Seon Woo (Ono), Yoo Ah In as Yang Ki Beom (Eiji), Choi Ji Ho as Nam Soo Yeong (Chikage), oh, and Andy Gillet as Jean-Baptise Evan. Both Joo Ji Hoon (JJH) and Kim Jae Wook (KJW) use to be models, so there are many, and I mean many photos of the two of them looking very good. The added bonus is that both of them are really good actors too! JJH continues to show audience that he can play anything from the fictional Korean Royal Prince to a lawyer to a rich guy who owns a cake-shop. And KJW is, well, he is new by comparison, and most fans knows him as Waffle!Guy from ‘Coffee Prince’, but he is so good in this film.

Overall, I haven’t enjoyed an Asian film this much in a very long time. LOVE this so very much.

Now, that's what I call satisfying.

Jodie Foster you are awesome, and you are my hero. See, this is the type of revenge-film that is both emotionally and morally satisfying (unlike Taken). LOVES so very much. I will talk about this in more details when I can write about it without SCREECHING in GLEE over the film.

27 Dresses - cute and oh boy, do I know a few women like her. You know, people pleasers, incapable of saying no. I am highly amused by all the bridesmaid dresses, and is extremely pleased that James Marsden got the girl. YAY!

Street Kings - I really like the film, it is tightly plotted, the action and violence is highly visceral, and Ludlow on a rampage is so damn satisfying. Also I completely forgot that Hugh Laurie was in the film, Forest Whitaker is amazing as usual, and Keanu Reeves is kind of really good in the film. One last thing, very sad about Chris Evan's character.

The X-Files; I Want to Believe - ( Spoilers ) Like a long episode. But gods, how I have missed them. I think I'm still bitter over the way the series ended, still so fucking angry at Chris Carter. Otherwise, EEE! It is so GOOD to see Mulder and Scully again that I just can't seem to care about anything but the SQUEEE! So MANY CALLBACKS to the series; Mulder's room, the poster, the sunflower seeds and OMFG! The PENCILS ON THE CEILING! EEEE! Gods, I HAVE MISSED THEM! However, to be fair, the film was oddly paced at times, the dialogue was often painful, and while Mulder and Scully are there it still felt slightly off the mark. BUT! It is kind of an awesome epilogue to a well-loved series.

The film had a truly great start, some of the scenes were breath-takingly beautiful and Keanu Reeves is kind of awesome in it. However, all the good in this film was dragged down by wasting so much time focusing on the relationship between step-mom (Jennifer Connelly) and annoying step-child (Jaden Smith). I wanted this film to focus on Reeve’s character and his interactions and observations of Earth; instead I was treated to a really irritating drama of annoying child whom I wanted to slap 30 seconds after him being introduced.

It is utterly frustrating to see the missed potential this film could have delivered; it could have been a great work, but instead falls into the ravines of could-have-beens and ‘meh’ sci-fi.

Overall; despite my frustrations it isn't a bad film and is worth watching on the big screen. It is still more enjoyable than the Dark Knight, so yay.

ETA: Reeves is really good in this film, and it is absolutely fascinating watching him move, and some of his lines in this film send shivers down my back. Also, his spoken Mandarin is, well, is kind of passable. That is, not truly horrendous, I still needed the subs for about 30% of what he was saying but the other 70% wasn't that bad.

Saw Twilight yesterday with nekomancy, approx 60 to 70% of the film was kind of snore-worthy, though the last 20 minutes or so picked up enough for me to be interested. The cat and I kept on giggling through the film because it was kind of lame for most of it, and I may or may not have made some comments about how, um, mentally deficient, the Cullens' first appeared to be.

The good bits:
1. Rosalie. Her bitchface and her curves were awesome.
2. Alice; she is adorable.
3. Charlie, Bella's dad, is awesome.
4. Vampire Baseball left me really impressed. I found it much more entertaining than any of the 'flying squirrel' scenes, which was just bad.
5. Jacob is ADORABLE!
6. Bella's friends! I kind of LOVE them in their dork-titude.
7. Approx. 80% of the fight sequence at the ballet school. It was very visceral... except they had to ruin it with the flying squirrel act.
8. The whole prom sequence. It was such a throwback to the teen-flicks of the 80s and early 90s, loved so very much.

It isn't a bad film; it is just a rather boring and at times cringe-worthy film, I have seen much better teen-flicks that had better pacing, better chemistry and amazing intensity between young loves, Twilight did not deliver on any of the above. Bella and Edward's relationship was just embarrassing, and it really didn't help that I found Edward and Bella lacked chemistry, which is probably one of the reason I was bored and giggly through most of the film.

ETA: The glitter was, in the words of nekomancy, like peach fuzz. I wholly agree.

The cat and I had to watch Iron Man later in the evening because Tony Stark is hot and about a millions times better than Twilight.

Just returned from watching Quantum of Solace, and OMFG! YES! Just YES! You have no idea how much I love Craig’s Bond, Casino Royale made me love Bond the way I fell in love with Bourne. Quantum of Solace has pretty much guaranteed Craig as the only Bond for me. Also, probably one of the most satisfying revenge films I have ever seen; a closure for Bond’s lingering anguish over the events of Casino Royale.

( The spoilers )

M, as usual is AWESOME. I want to be like M when I grow up.

One other thing, Paul Greengrass PAY SOME FUCKING ATTENTION! This is how you film action sequences, STOP using the fucking steady-cam in the future.

"For every evil under the sun, there is a remedy or there is none.
If there be one, seek till you find it; If there be none, never mind it."

---Mother Goose

Watched Hancock yesterday. For a superhero film it certainly left an impression. I'm strangely philosophical and mournful about it.

( Spoilers for the film because it is just different enough to make it interesting )

In conclusion; good film, just don't over think like I did.

I first saw Neon Genesis Evangelion over 10 years ago at the age of 15 (or possibly 14). The series might have been written by a self-indulgent suicidal depressive but it can’t be denied that it was a hugely influential series, introducing many to anime. The series was a truly inspiring piece of work, even if the series ending and the 2 films made me want to kill things and scream like a banshee.

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the first film in the tetralogy of Rebuild of Evangelion is a retelling of the first 6 episodes of the series . It has better quality animation, some very interesting directional changes that yields a much tighter plotline. And yes, enough changes were made that Shinji is a much more sympathetic character than he was in the series. The film reminded me why I fell in love with the series in the first place, you know, before the happy feelings turned into bitterness and hatred.

Shinji is positioned to be much less of an irritating twerp. His role as a child and a victim is shown in sharp relief; a boy that should have never been put into such a situation in the first place. I admit the directorial/editorial decision to cut out most of the whining helps greatly in the positive evaluation of Shinji’s character.

The plot, as I said earlier is much sleeker and presented in a less confusing manner. Though new viewers may still be confused by the overall plotline of the series, however, considering the series never bothered to clarify at all I really can’t summon any sympathy. ( Spoilers for those few who haven’t seen the series yet )

So, in conclusion, the first Rebuild of Evangelion film is pretty damn awesome. Better animation quality, more amazing fight sequences between the Angels and the Evas, a plot that is more clearly defined, and a main character that no longer makes me want to stab him repeatedly. I will be looking forward to the rest of the films with some major expectation (PLEASE LET THERE BE SOME KIND OF HAPPY ENDING!).

Yesterday I saw Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, the first film in the tetralogy of Rebuild of Evangelion. I have a lot to say about this film (I have pages of hand written notes) but it is going to take a few days to interpret my notes and muddle my way through my feelings.

Saw Tropic Thunder today; it is funny, laugh out loud. I cringed at parts and was mesmerised by other parts. ( Tropic Thunder spoilers ) In conclusion, the action sequences are something you’d expect from a Hollywood war extravaganza rather than a comedy. The cast is amazing, the guest spots were incredible and it is an excellent comedy. It doesn’t change the world or anything but it made me laugh and sometime that’s all you want.

perseid, stuff I promised.

Links to some of the places I read. They all have fascinating links that can lead you to places that will suck up all your available time so be careful.

AUSTRALIAN CURRENT AFFAIRS
http://andrewnorton.info/

WRITING
http://pubrants.blogspot.com/
http://literature.sdsu.edu/onWRITING/vonnegutSTYLE.html

ENTERTAINMENT
http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/
http://tvbythenumbers.com/
http://delicious.com/rdseidman

TV SERIES THAT I CAN PROVIDE IF MY BURNER FINALLY WORKS
- Dexter seasons 1 & 2
- SPN season 3
- SGA season 4

COMICS
- Iron Man v4
- New Avengers

What else did we talk about that had you interested?

Just came back from watching the Dark Knight. Before I go any farther I’d like to say that I went into the film completely unspoiled and less than enthusiastic. The previews made the film look boring, which it isn’t by any means, and Batman Begins while not a bad film, was um, kind of dull at times. Anyway, overall Dark Knight is a well made film. Not exceptional but a good solid film, congratulations Mr. Nolan.

( The good bits )

( The bad bits )

In conclusion, a film that should be viewed on the big screen at least once, if only to see Ledger’s performance as the Joker, which is just awesome.

Just came back from watching The Incredible Hulk with velithya. In short; it is fun. I was happy that I saw it at the cinemas but I doubt I will be forking out money to see it again.

Otherwise go to velithya's lj for a comprehensive summary of the film.

Thunder is really freaky. Woke up this morning thinking that the ceiling was going to cave in on me, it was rather trumatising. I now empathise with freaked out cats much more.

Finally watched all of 300, um, it was rather uninspiring. Yes, it was shiny, but it left me very bored. No amount of shiny chests and thighs could save the film for me. Wait – I lied, if there had been more inappropriate touching on Xerxe’s part I may have been much more interested. As it is, the film was rather flat on an emotional level. The slow-mo was OK the first two or three times, but just became irritating the more they did it.

So, pretty but rather uninspiring.

velithya and I just came back from our third viewing of Iron Man, and OMFG! CAPTAIN AMERICA'S SHIELD!

THEY DIDN'T LIE!

TONY IS STILL HOT, AND OMFG! CAPTAIN AMERICA'S SHIELD!

It is REALLY CLEAR, and BIG, and just OBVIOUS! WHY DID I MISS IT THE FIRST 2 TIMES?!

ETA: Pepper and Tony pairing fics? Yes, they are indeed being called pepperony! OMFG! WHY?!