Dec
29
2007
LP6’s Top 10 Movies of 2007
Posted by luna6 | 17 Comments
I wasn’t even sure if I would make a year end’s list for movies, just because there’s a sizeable list of films that has yet to be released on DVD. If so, films like Masayuki Suo’s “I Just Didn’t Do It,” Ang Lee’s “Lust Caution,” Seong-ho Yoon’s “Milky Way Liberation Front” and others would have vied for place on this list. Also this list is strictly for films released theatrically in 2007. Otherwise Tetsuya Nakashima’s “Memories of Matsuko,” Chan-wook Park’s “I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK” and other films released theatrically in 2006, but on DVD this year would have made the list.
Regardless, this list is what it is and hopefully for people reading this, they may pick up on a film they would not have seen otherwise. So on with the best films of 2007.
01. “Secret Sunshine” - This movie is bleak, dark, and depressing. Yet there’s still hope at the end, however fleeting it may feel. I did think “Secret Sunshine” shared a kindred spirit of sorts with Albert Camus’ novel “The Stranger.” Well deserved best actress award was also given to Jeon Do-Yeon at this year’s Cannes. Her performance was just electrifying.
02. “Ploy” - Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s “Ploy” takes the dreamy feel of his prior film “Invisible Waves” but wraps it around a far more tangible storyline. On its most basic level the movie deals impressively with the insecurities in a relationship, but from there, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang weaves his own idiosyncratic cinematic magic.
03. “Exodus” - Wacky story that draws you in from the beginning with its surreal “A Clockword Orange” like opening scene, then goes further down an unpredictable satire path. Stanley Kubrick would have loved this film.
04. “Epitaph” - An unexpected surprise for myself. The movie is set during the Japanese occupation of South Korea (how often do you see that?), with three loosely related stories wrapped together in a horror movie veneer. Visuals are second to none.
05. “Black House” - Might not have the most original story, but for sheer thrills “Black House” throws it down wave after wave. I’ve never had as much fun in a cinema than watching “Black House” at a packed theatre in downtown Daegu, South Korea. The audience shrieked and screamed in unison like they were riding a roller coaster.
06. “Happiness” - Jin Jo Hur’s fourth movie dealing with bittersweet relationships, but “Happiness” rightfully stands on its own. Everything from the visuals to the pairing of Jeong-min Hwang and Su-jeong Lim made me feel a bit in awe.
07. “A Gentle Breeze In The Village” - What this movie lacks in plot development is made up in spades by scene after scene of the most charming vignettes on small town life and the coming of age of two precious teenagers. If you loved Juri Ueno in “Swing Girls” you’ll love Kaho in this one.
08a. “Boys of Tomorrow” - Korean indie flick centered around two brothers that grew up on the wrong side of town. Gripping drama, with some harrowing scenes. This could have easily ranked anywhere from #3 - #8.
08b. “A Good Day To Have An Affair” - The topic of illicit affairs is covered in many South Korean films but not many can equal the fun found in “A Good To Have an Affair.” Goofy comedy, that features strong performances all around, highlighted by Hye-Su Kim’s nutty housewife character. There’s a poignant message left in the film as well.
09. “Lost In Beijing” - Strong film centered around an affair, adoption, and money. The movie also brings to light the problems of a burgeoning capitalist system in Beijing.
10. “Sakuran” - This one is all about style and visuals. The movie itself is about as deep as the fish tanks often shown in the film, but so what? Lots of fun to be had in Sakuran, none more so than seeing traditional ideas twisted inside and out.
2007 Movie Reviews, Movie News |
Dec
29
2007
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (Tennen kokekko)
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Movie : A Gentle Breeze in the Village (Tennen kokekko)
Release Date : July 28, 2007
Country : Japan
Director : Nobuhiro Yamashita
Starring : Kaho, Masaki Okada
Runtime : 121 minutes
Website : http://tenkoke.com/
Rating : 8.0
(16 Votes, User Rating: 8.63)
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It seems Nobuhiro Yamashita impresses with each movie that he makes. “Linda Linda Linda” brought the director international acclaim with his coming of age tale of an all girl rock band. His following film “Matsugane Potshot Affair” indulged in more offbeat humor, somewhat like “Fargo” set in rural Japan, and while the movie didn’t have the commercial success of “Linda Linda Linda” the movie did provide another enjoyable moviegoing experience. Yamashita’s latest pic “A Gentle Breeze in the Village” returns to the softer tone of “Linda Linda Linda” minus the rock band schtik to focus on a coming of age pic where the beauty of the film lies in the nuances of the moment, flavored by the visual spectacle of Japan’s countryside helmed through the keen lens of Yamashita.
“A Gentle Breeze in the Village” is based off Fusako Kuramchi’s best selling novel of the same name. The screenplay was written by Aya Watanabe from “Josee the Tiger and the Fish.” If you are a fan of that movie (I know I am) then you’re likely to notice something else similar about that movie and “A Gentle Breeze in the Village.” Beyond Aya Watanabe having written the screenplay, both movies also feature musical scores composed by the Japanese rock band Quruli - they do make some of their finest songs since their Josee and the Tiger and the Fish soundtrack.
In “A Gentle Breeze in the Village,” Soyo Migata is a quirky 8th grader who resides in a small village somewhere in the rural area of Japan. The village is small enough where there’s only 6 students at their school (from 1st grade through 8th grade). Soyo’s been friends with her classmates since childhood and they hang out together like an extended family. One day a new student arrives named Hiromi Osawa. He’s a good looking boy from Tokyo and all the other students view him as somewhat of a celebrity. Hiromi in his own way fits in with the group and takes an interest in Soyo (who is the only other 8th grader at their small school).
All the students then make a trip out to a nearby a beach. As precursor to what will come, Hiromi opts take a different path from the group when the road splits in two. The others belatedly follow Hiromi and this is when Soyo and Hiromi’s relationship first starts to bloom. Soyo trips on a train track while a train approaches in the distant. Hiromi non-nonchalantly walks over and carries the frightened Soyo out of harm’s way. They now share a bond that neither recognizes…yet.
The movie then deals with a series of small episodes which eventually culminates in Hiromi’s decision to attend high school in Tokyo or somewhere near the village where Soyo lives. On the way to the film’s conclusion, the movie is filled with delightful moments of charm. From scenic shots of the village rice field, to experiencing the small town feel of neighbors knowing each neighbor since they were born, to Hiromi and Soyo taking a chaperoned trip to Tokyo there’s so many things in “A Gentle Breeze in the Village” to take in. This was also the first time I have seen the teenage actress Karu perform in a film. With her quirky personality and pigtails my first reaction was to think of her character as a bit of a knock off from the Juri Ueno character in “Swing Girls.” By the end of the film I had long forgotten any such silly notions and came away a huge fan of her performance.
You can certainly make a case for what “A Gentle Breeze in the Village” doesn’t have. A dynamic plot, sex, violence, and melodrama are all elements you’ll find lacking in the movie. What “A Gentle Breeze in the Village” does have is the splendor of youth, the tranquility of nature, and the vivacity of life all molded together in an idealized world where each and every moment is the most memorable. A place I would like to revisit again. A gentle breeze in the village indeed.
buy A Gentle Breeze in the Village
Cast:
Kaho - Soyo Migita
Masaki Okada - Hiromi Osawa
Erisa Yanagi - Ibuki Taura
Shoko Fujimura - Atsuko Yamabe
Yui Natsukawa - Itoko Migita
Koichi Sato - Father
Hiromasa Hirosue
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Linda Linda Linda, Hana and Alice
2007 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movie Reviews |
Dec
29
2007
Okada, Masaki
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Name: Masaki Okada (岡田将生)
DOB: August 15, 1989
POB: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 180cm
(11 Votes, User Rating: 9.18)
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Movies:
Robo Rock | Robo rokku (2007)
The Foreign Duck, the Native Duck and God | Ahiru to kamo no koinrokka (2007)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village | Tennen kokekko (2007) - Hiromi OsawaTV:
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2007)
Seito Shokun! (2007) - Kinoshita Kaoru
Dec
29
2007
Name: Kaho (夏帆)
DOB: June 30, 1991
POB: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 162cm
(3 Votes, User Rating: 7)
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Movies:
Tokyo Girl (2008)
Sunadokei (2008)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village | Tennen kokekko (2007) - Soyo Migita
Ketai Deka the movie 2 - Ishikawa Goemon ichizoku no inbo - ketto! Gorugoda-no-mori (2007) - Rei Zenigata
Ketai Deka the movie - Baberu no To no himitsu: Zenigata shimai e no chosenjo (2006) - Rei Zenigata
Gamera the Brave | Gamera: Chiisaki yusha-tachi (2006)
Official Blog: http://star-studio.jp/kaho
Actresses, Japanese Actresses |
Dec
29
2007
Sato, Koichi
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Name: Koichi Sato (佐藤浩市)
DOB: December 10, 1960
POB: Tokyo, Japan
Height: 182cm.
(1 Votes, User Rating: 6)
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Movies:
Za majikku awa (2008)
Sukiyaki Western Django (2007)
A Gentle Breeze in the Village | Tennen kokekko (2007) - Father
Love Never to End | Ai no rukeichi (2007)
A Cheerful Gang Turns the Earth | Yoki na gyangu ga chikyu o mawasu (2006) - Kyono
Starfish Hotel (2006) - Arisu
The Wow-Choten | Hotel Uchoten hoteru (2006) - Katsutoshi Mutoda
Waiting in the Dark | Kurai tokoro de machiawase (2006) - Toshio Matsunaga
What the Snow Brings | Yuki ni negau koto (2005) - Takeo Yazaki
Aegis Bokoku no igisu (2005) - Diasuke Atsumi
Sea Cat | Umineko (2004) - Kunikazu Akagi
Infection | Kansen (2004) - Dr. Akiba
Samurai Resurrection | Makai tensho (2003) - Yagyu Jubei Mitsuyoshi
When the Last Sword Is Drawn | Mibu gishi den (2003) - Hajime Saito
Rockers | Rokkazu (2003)
Utsutsu (2002) - Ikejima
KT (2002) - Masuo Tomita
Inugami (2001) - Mimoto, the Hunter
Another Battle | Shin jingi naki tatakai (2000) - Nakahira
Whiteout (2000) - Masahiko Utsuki
Face | Kao (2000) - Ikeda
Wait and See | Ah haru (1998) - Hiroshi Nirasaki
Beru epokku (1998)
The Spiral | Rasen (1998) - Mitsuo Ando
Lie lie Lie (1997) - Hatano, Zeiji
Oishinbo (1996) - Shiro Yamaoka
Angel of Darkness 3: Live Action | Inju kyoshi III (1996) (V)
The Five Gonin (1995) - Mikihiko Bandai
Crest of Betrayal | Chushingura gaiden yotsuya kaidan (1994) - Iemon Tamiya
Tokarefu (1994) - Kei Matsumura
Psychic Girl | Reiko Cho shojo Reiko (1991)
Ruten no umi (1990) - Tsujidou
China Shadow | Shadow of China (1990) - Akira
Company-Sponsored Funeral | Shaso (1989) - Kyosuke Okabe
Bungakusho satsujin jiken: Oinaru jyoso (1989) - Kyoji Ichiya
The Silk Road | Dun-Huang (1988) - Zhao Xingde
The Heartbreak Yakuza | Saraba itoshiki hito yo (1987)
Bound for the Fields, the Mountains, and the Seacoast | Noyuki yamayuki umibe yuki (1986) - Chuui Aoki
A Promise | Ningen no yakusoku (1986) - Detective Yoshikawa
Tsubomi no nagame (1986) - Kenzo
Inujini sesi mono (1986) - Onisho
Kids (1985) - Ryuichi Nishikawa
Break Town monogatari (1985) - Koji
Love Hotel (1985) - Taxi driver
Kita no hotaru (1984) - Yakichi
The Catch | Gyoei no mure (1983) - Shunichi Ida
Antarctica | Nankyoku monogatari (1983) - Toda Taicho
Battle Anthem | Nihonkai daikaisen: Umi yukaba (1983) - Yusaku Ogami
Lovers Lost | Dotonborigawa (1982) - Masao Takeuchi
The Gate of Youth Part 2 | Seishun no mon: Jiritsu hen (1982) - Shinsuke Ibuki
Manon (1981) - Itaru
The Gate of Youth | Seishun no mon (1981) - Shisuke Ibuki
Dec
28
2007
May 18
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Movie Review: May 18 | Hwaryeohan hyuga
Release Date: July 25, 2007
Country: South Korea
Director: Ji-hun Kim
Starring: Sang-kyung Kim, Yu-won Lee, Sung-kee Ahn, Jun-ki Lee
Runtime: 118 Min
Editor Rating: 4.5
(9 Votes, User Rating: 6.44)
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One of the most commercially successful films in South Korea this past year was May 18. The movie is based on the real life Gwangju massacre that occurred from May 18 to May 27, 1980 in Gwangju, South Korea.
The Gwangju Massacre started after Army General Chun Doo-hwan declared martial law over the country. Students all over the country protested against the repression of their freedom and took to the streets in protest. On May 18, students in the city of Gwangju gathered in front of the Chonnam National University to protest the closing of their university. Armed forces stationed around the university quickly responded with violent force. The violence quickly spread throughout the city of Gwangju as the students moved their demonstration to the downtown area and where they were joined by city residents. The uprising lasted until May 27, when the government sent in over 200,000 military personnel to quash the uprising. The revolt lasted for only 90 more minutes. To this day exact numbers on fatalities are unknown, but the official government investigation estimated the death count to be in the hundreds.
May 18 is centered around four fictional characters that were inspired by the real life incidents in the Gwangju tragedy. The film stars Lee Yo-Won (Take Care Of My Cat), Kim Sang-Kyung (Memories Of Murder / The World of Silence), Lee Jun-Ki (The King and The Clown), along with veteran actor Ahn Seong-Gi (Radio Star / Handbando). Currently the movie ranks as South Korea’s second highest grossing film in 2007, after D-War.
After watching “May 18″ I can’t help to express anything but disappoint with the film. Although the movie is set during the May 18 uprising and follows loosely what transpired over the next 9 horrifying days, the movie in cinematic terms is one over baked melodrama. The movie repeatedly attempts to pull on the heartstrings of moviegoers with plasticine coated moments of corniness. The cardboard good and bad characters are so clearly delineated you start to doubt the whole validity of the incident. This is unfortunate as the backgdrop of the movie stayed true to the May 18 massacre.
Taxi cab driver Min-Woo (Kim Sang-Kyung) is in love with nurse Shin-Ae (Lee Yo-Won). Min-Woi’s high school aged brother, Jin-Woo (Lee Jun-Ki) attends the same church as Shin-Ae and acts as the intermediary between the couple. Her father is the retired military commander Heung-Su (Ahn Seong-Gi). These four are swept into the Gwangju Massacre by unfortunate circumstances. Min-Woo observes the brutal atrocities first hand when he attempts to drive his cab near the Chonnam National University. He quickly heads home and instructs his younger brother Jin-Woo to avoid involvement in the uprising. Meanwhile, Shin-Ae is working feverishly at a nearby hospital attending to the hundreds of innocent causalities.
When one of Jin-Woo’s high school classmates is killed by the military, Jin-Woo leads his classmates out to the streets in protest. Enraged citizens begin to take arms from nearby armories and police stations. Things seem to settle down when the soldiers retreat from the city on May 22. The citizens then realize that things may turn for the worse as the military are blockading the city while waiting for reinforcements.
During the first half of the movie the melodrama is toned down, while the film fluctuates between a fairy tale like introduction and some genuinely heart wrenching moments of military brutality. Hopes for a compelling drama gets washed away by the second half when the citizens prepare to make their last stand. The excessive corniness gets caked on with scene after scene of overly sentimental moments. This is all the more unnecessary as the moments were already chilling in its own natural state. The truth of the citizens plight were more than enough to bring out genuine emotions, but the filmmakers felt the need to cake on their own manufactured layers of heartbreak. Unfortunately for the movie, this time around the truth was much more compelling than fiction.
Cast:
Sang-kyung Kim - Min- Wu
Yu-won Lee - Sin-ae
Sung-kee Ahn - Heung-suJun-ki Lee
Mun-hee Na
Jae-ho Song
Jeol-min Park
Byung-ho Son
Won-sang Park
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Welcome to Dongmokgol, The President’s Last Bang
2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews |
Dec
28
2007
Elgato updates EyeTV software (2.5.2)
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Elgato’s EyeTV software (the best Mac TV software around), has received an update to version 2.5.2. This release fixes minor issues including problems with EyeTV’s Diversity tuner connecting to a single antenna, improvements for the EyeTV DTT, and fixes the problem of sound dropping out when using an EyeTV Hybrid in analog mode. EyeTV owners can download version 2.5.2 here. Review of EyeTV’s Hybrid can be read here.
Dec
28
2007
Debian 4.0 (Etch) updated aka Debian 4.0r2
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Debian’s next relese “lenny” is still a good ways off, but in the meantime the Debian team has released an update to Debian 4.0. The update can be downloaded as Debian 4.0r2 from one Debian’s mirrors or current 4.0 Etch users can simply “apt-get dist-upgrade” to 4.0r2. This update mainly adds corrections for security problems to the stable release, along with a few adjustment to serious problems. Review of Debian Etch can be read here.
List of Bugfixes:
apache2 Fix of several CVEs
apache2-mpm-itk Rebuild for apache2 rebuilds
boson Rebuild against lib3ds-dev
cdebconf Fix of several memory leaks
debconf Fix possible hangs during netboot installs
dosemu-freedos Remove unused non-free code
enigmail Fix regression introduced by icedove 1.5.0.10
fai-kernels Recompile for Linux Kernel rebuilds
findutils Fix locate heap buffer overflow (CVE-2007-2452)
flashplugin-nonfree New upstream release fixes security problems
glibc Fix nscd crash
gnome-hearts Added missing dependency
gnome-panel Fix authentication bypass
iceweasel-l10n Remove roa-es-val translation and updated ca package description
joystick Bring architectures back in sync
kernel-patch-openvz Rebuild for Debian Kernel rebuild
klibc Fixes nfsroot on mips(el)
lib3ds Fix strict-aliasing errors
libdbi-perl Fix potential dataloss
libmarc-charset-perl Bring architectures back in sync
libnarray-ruby Rebuild against current ruby1.8 to fix a wrong library install directory
linux-latest-2.6 Rebuild for Linux Kernel rebuild
lvm2 Fix to work correctly with striped lvm1 metadata
mpop Rebuild against etch (i386 only)
multipath-tools Move priority of initscript
opal Fix CVE-2007-4924
openscenegraph Bring architectures back in sync
openvpn Rebuild against liblzo2 to fix general protection errors.
pam Fix CVE-2005-2977
po4a Fix CVE-2007-4462
postgresql-8.1 Fix regression introduced in 8.1.9
pwlib Fix CVE-2007-4897
pygresql Fix package on libpq
sear Rebuild against lib3ds-dev
tzdata Recent timezone updates
unace Make program 64bit clean
user-mode-linux Rebuild for Debian Kernel rebuild
uswsusp Fix regression
view3ds Rebuild against lib3ds-dev
viewcvs Fix interoperability with etch CVS
wesnoth Fix CVE-2007-6201
Dec
27
2007
Bubblegum Leomonade - Ten Years Younger
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Band: Bubblegum Leomonade
Album: Ten Years Younger (EP)
Release Date: January 2008
Label: Matinee
Free Downloads: Unsafe at any Speed
Rating: 7.5
(6 Votes, User Rating: 9.33)
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Bubblegum Lemonade isn’t the latest candy to threaten the health of your teeth. No siree. Bubblegum Lemonade is a new band from Glasgow, Scotland, that brings back the old in a good way. There’s the tinny feedback drenched sounds of the Jesus and Mary Chain, when Bobbie Gilespie could still count and used that to his advantage while pounding the floor toms for the Mary Chain, floating in and out of every song. There’s also the lovely 12 string Rickenbacker guitar leads that makes you want to beg Mr. Tambourine Man to play one more song or two. Lastly, there’s the bubblegum pop like melodies that brings to mind everything from Beach Blanket Bingo to the Jasmine Minks to good ole vinyl records.
Derivative isn’t a problem when the songs are as catchy as what you’ll find on “Ten Years Younger.” There’s only four songs that clocks in for no more than 12 minutes in total. Within that brief time span you’ll be transported to different era’s from the past to the present. The songs on the EP are all infectiously catchy and good enough to make you want to break lampshades in unbridled euphoria. As an example just play “Unsafe At Any Speed” at an obnoxiously loud volume. If the classic JAMC like guitars doesn’t cause a massive amount of endorphins to be released, then the Byrds like guitar solo will. Hell yeah! It’s Bubblegum Lemonade!
01. Ten Years Younger listen
02. The Tomorrow People
03. Unsafe at any Speed
04. That Thing You Do
Dec
27
2007
Warner Bros. Joins DRM-Free Amazon MP3 Shop
Posted by mikespiegs | Leave a Comment
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. OK, well not fallen, but they sure are giving in pretty quickly these days. It’s a crazy thing when you actually listen to those people that support your business… I think they’re called customers.
Anyways, it may be not the most newsworthy story of the year as they’re pretty late aboard the Amazon DRM-Free train (see: Universal, EMI and the some 33,000 independent labels) but Warner Bros Music has decided to go along for the ride. This, combined with the other labels offering DRM-Free songs on Amazon, brings their DRM-Free collection to a grand total of 2.9 million songs; arguably the largest DRM-Free collection available legally on the web (we’re not sure how much eMusic has). Apple is not happy.
Music News, News, Tech News |
Dec
27
2007
K Records opens digital download music store
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
There’s speculation that Apple’s iTunes will offer Fox movies for download rentals after their MacWorld event and today Amazon announced that they will offer the entire Warner Music catalog in their download music store. What’s also interesting is what indie companies are doing in this digital download euphoria. In an interview we did with Johan Angergard of Labrador records he did mention that “… in sales wise term, it’s also getting better and better for Labrador. It’s never been a better day for us.” And now another indie label, K Records nonetheless, has opened their own digital music store. And the prices can’t be beat!
All 188 K Record releases are now offered for download at K Record’s music store. From the very first K Records release of the Beat Happening’s “Beat Happening” to Tender Forever’s “Wider.” A review of Tender Forever’s “Wider” can be read here, written by yours truly. On top of all this, the best thing about K Record’s music store is the prices! Entire albums cost $6.99 and you can download individual songs for .69 cents a piece! Purely subjective here, but that’s the price point I think is fair for music downloads and I’m planning to hit up K Records’ music store right now.
Music News, News, Tech News |
Dec
27
2007
Monster Bobby – Gaps
Posted by mikespiegs | Leave a Comment
Artist: Monster Bobby
Album: Gaps
Release Date: August 7, 2007
Record Label: Hypnote Records
Free Downloads: Beyond The Reach of Arms
Editor Rating: 6.0
(2 Votes, User Rating: 7.5)
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I wasn’t familiar with Monster Bobby and then I did a Google search and this guy comes up everywhere. Apparently he is part of The Pippettes backing band and was in a band called The Cassette. This is his first album out on his own and was recently released. Gaps starts out with a brief intro track and then immediate jumps into a song that reminds me of Beatnik Filmstars, a long forgotten but amazing noise pop band. This song, “The Closest Experience To That of Being…” is a promising start. Way distorted vocals with a tap tap tap electro back beat and some distorted synth (or maybe it’s guitar). Regardless, it’s noisy and catchy; exciting. The next track completely changes the sound. I thought that maybe Jens Lekman accidentally got caught in the playlist as this song sounds EXACTLY like Jens. There is even a reference to Helsinki, which is not completely Jens territory (see: Cold Swedish Winter) but Norwegian enough to know that the Jens influence is intentional.
Moving on… The Jens Lekman influence becomes less apparent on the next track but still has some Swed stylings (horns and a doo woppy ‘Friday Night at The Drive In Bingo’ sound). One thing I like about this record is that It is has a bedroom pop appeal to it. It’s well produced in spots but very all over the place and chaotic to a certain extent at least in execution. The tracks are very sporadic and random