Feb
19
2008
Le Grand Chef
Posted by luna6 | 3 Comments
Movies: Le Grand Chef | Shikgaek | 식객
Release Date: November 1, 2007
Country: South Korea
Director: Yun-su Jeon
Starring: Kang-woo Kim, Won-hie Lim, Ha-na Lee
Runtime: 113 Min
Editor Rating: 5.0
(16 Votes, User Rating: 6.38)
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“Le Grand Chef” is an oh so promising film, the main storyline features two rival chefs competing to become the #1 chef in all of Korea. The movie is based off a popular Korean comic and true to its roots, the movie offers bright pop art like colors and the occasional split screens to remind you of its origins. If only the movie stayed with this formula “Le Grand Chef” could have been one of those singular successes ala “200 Pounds Beauty” (plastic surgery transforms woman into a diva), “Tazza” (centered around the Korean card game of “Hwatu”), or “Like A Virgin” (transgendered teen competes in a wrestling tournament to pay for a sex change operation). Unfortunately, the filmmakers made the disappointing choice to overstuff the movie with just way too many unneeded ingredients.
In “Le Grand Chef” Seong-chan (Kang-woo Kim) and Bong-ju (Won-hee Lim) are finalists in a competition to ordain a national Korean chef. The two competitors are no strangers to each other and have a long history of rivalry. They both started their culinary careers at the same cooking school and they competed five years earlier to work as the head chef at a world-class hotel in Korea. During their first competition Seong-chan seemed likely to win the competition, but a blowfish plate that he made was mysteriously tainted with poison (guess who sabotaged the plate?).
After that competition, Seong-chan gave up the culinary arts and retreated to a small rural town to sell vegetables and work as a farmer. Even though he was content in retirement, a reporter comes to his home to encourage him to compete in the royal chef challenge. Eventually Seong-chan’s competitive spirit gets the better of him and he does enter the competition.
If this was the entire the movie, “La Grand Chef” would likely have been a smashing success. But, before you can say “champong,” several unnecessary sub-plot rears its ugly head. There’s the story of a death row inmate who holds the secret to making the best charcoal in Korea, an even more unnecessary subplot with Seong-chan and his beloved cow, and the wackiest of the bunch… the two rival chef’s grandparents and how one of them may have committed murder. The movie jumps back in time to tell this jarring story at the most inappropriate time, right before the finale. Lastly, if all these sub-plots weren’t distracting enough, the movie feels the need to inject the finale with unneeded patriotism.
When “La Grand Chef” focuses on the chefs and their amazing Korean dishes the movie is just a whole lot of fun to watch. If you haven’t ever tried a Korean dish before you’ll likely find yourself wanting to try one soon. If you have tried some of those Korean dishes before you’ll likely end up driving to your nearest Korean restaurant or Asian grocery store to taste some of those dishes again.
Ultimately, “Le Grand Chef” comes across as a promising dish, but the excess ingredients (sub-plots) ruins what would have been an otherwise thoroughly tasty entre. Damn.
buy Le Grand Chef from YesAsia
Cast:
Kang-woo Kim
Won-hie Lim
Ha-na LeeSang-ho Kim
Jin-tae Kim
Ho-seok Kong
Eun-pyo Jeong
Jin Jeong
Kil-Kang Ahn
Genichi Murakami
Jin-yeong Park
2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movies |
Feb
18
2008
Venus and Mars (Ssaum)
Posted by luna6 | 4 Comments
Movie: Venus and Mars | Ssaum | 싸움
Release Date: December 13, 2007
Country: South Korea
Director: Ji-seung Han
Starring: Kyung-gu Sol, Tae-hee Kim
Runtime: 102 Min
Editor Rating: 5.0
(9 Votes, User Rating: 6.22)
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When “Venus and Mars” opened in South Korea this past December the movie made headlines because of the unusual pairing of noted dramatic actor Kyung-gu Sol (Oasis/Voice of a Murderer) and TV drama queen Tae-hee Kim (The Restless). At the Korean box office “Venus and Mars” was a complete flop. Korean critics focused mostly on Tae-hee Kim’s performance and gave the movie less than stellar reviews. With these developments, I went into the film expecting the worst, but hey, I’m a die-hard fan of Korean films be it good or bad, so I wanted to see the train wreck for myself. The end result lies with how you view the proverbial glass that’s half full or empty, because “Venus and Mars” meets some of those lowly expectations, but also offers a few pleasant surprises.
In “Venus and Mars” hot-blooded Ji-Na (Tae-hee Kim) and compulsive obsessive Sang-min (Kyung-gu Sol) are involved in a highly volatile relationship. The couple goes through a cycle of dramatic break-ups and reconciliations before finally tying the knot. Marital bliss occurs only briefly before the couple files for divorce (this all occurs in the first 10 minutes of the film).
At first their separation occurs amicably with the couple attempting to remain friends. The somewhat freakish Sang-min goes so far as to divide their property in half. Literally in half that is. He cuts up their photos in half and even divides his cherished grandfather clock in half, giving Ji-Na the gold pendulum while he keeps the rest of the clock.
Then one day, Sang-min looks at his cherished clock and can’t take its appearance without its pendulum. He calls Jin-Na and asks to meet with her the next day. Unfortunately Jin-na seems to be having a bad day that particular day. When Sang-min asks for the pendulum back, Jin-na refuses point blank and this starts a personal war between these two utterly odd individuals.
The movie itself starts in the midst of a dramatic breakup between the main characters. The movie then puts the peddle to the floor and shifts high gear through marriage, divorce, then war. You never really have a chance to settle in with characters, receiving a feeling similar to walking in on a movie during the middle portions of the film.
Even with that stated, the battle scenes between two ex-spouses works initially, but fails to evolve into anything meaningful. Of the two main stars, I was impressed with Tae-hee Kim’s performance and thoroughly enjoyed watching her performance as the fiery Jin-Na. The only other film I have seen of hers was “The Restless” and I found her nearly unwatchable in that film. It seems she has either improved by leaps & bounds or she is just more comfortable with this type of script (playing a Princess Leah like character in a Sci-Fi flick is definitely not her shtick). My main beef with the unusual paring would lie with the casting of Kyung-gu Sol as the freakish Sang-min. For whatever reasons (maybe I have seen way to many of his films), but to my eyes, he appeared to be the performer out of his element. Sol never really blends into his character and you don’t ever think of him as “Sang-min” but rather Kyung-gu Sol playing Sang-min. Also, the noticeable 12 year age gap between the two main characters and the script leaning more for the young than the old all contributed to Kyung-gu Sol appearing out of place.
Visually the film takes after Jin Jang’s “Someone Special” with a mixture of momentary shaky hand held camera shots, bright colors, fast edits, and brief unexpected skits. Unfortunately the script in “Venus and Mars” isn’t on the level of “Someone Special” and the timing in the movie is just completely off.
“Venus and Mars” (aka “Ssaum” with the literal translation “Fight”) comes across as an odd booger that takes off immediately without ever letting you settle in for the ride. The movie isn’t a complete disaster and does features a stellar performance by the frequently panned actress Tae-hee Kim. Yes you read that correctly, Tae-hee Kim was good in this film, going so far as to overshadow her much more celebrated counterpart Kyung-gu Sol. Most Korean comedies takes a u-turn near the latter portions of the film and “Venus and Mars” follows this tradition to a tee. Usually I find these detours to be annoying, but this time around I found the ending to be one of the best moments in the film. When Jin-Na and Sang-min stared at each other through the glass partition in the Incheon International Airport, there was finally (!!!) a moment where the characters expressed genuine emotion and let out their human side. Why the film couldn’t start in this manner and then evolve into a war of the roses type of film I don’t know, but I think I would have enjoyed it much more if it was presented in this manner.
buy Venus and Mars from YesAsia
Cast:
Kyung-gu Sol
Tae-hee KimSu-kyeong Jeon
Tae-hwa Seo
Jae-rok Kim
Ha-ryong Lim
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Someone Special, The Perfect Couple, Unstoppable Marriage
2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movies |
Feb
17
2008
Tokyo Tower: Mom and Me, and Sometimes Dad
Posted by luna6 | 1 Comment
Movie: Tokyo Tower: Mom & Me, and Sometimes Dad
Release Date: April 14, 2007
Country: Japan
Director: Joji Matsuoka
Starring: Joe Odagiri, Kirin Kiki
Runtime: 142 min
Editor Rating: 7.0
(14 Votes, User Rating: 8.43)
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“Tokyo Tower Mom & Me and Sometimes Dad” is a simple movie, that gets it right when it counts the most. The dynamics behind the mother and son (and sometimes dad) relationship might be a particular Asian thing, I’ve read somewhere that some people felt certain scenes seemed old fashioned or contrived, but from a guy that grew up in similar circumstances I can tell you the authenticity of those moments is particularly affecting.
In “Tokyo Tower Mom & Me and Sometimes Dad” the movie criss-crosses through time with flashback scenes to depict the relationship between Masaya (Joe Odagiri) and his mother Eiko (Kirin Kiki). When Masaya was three years old, his mother left his irresponsible father and took Masaya to live with her in the small rural town of Chikuho. There he grew up as something of an odd child, easily scared by sounds, but enjoyed such things as tying frogs to train tracks.
When it’s time for Masaya to attend high school, he attends a school that’s a long train ride away from his home. For the first time Masaya lives away from his mother and he takes a decided slacker approach to life (just like his father). During this time, it also becomes apparent that Masaya has a talent for the arts, but he seems to lack the motivation to become successful. When its time for Masaya to attend college he elects to attend a university in Tokyo which is even further away from his hometown and his mom. Throughout this time, Eiko supports Masaya unconditionally, working late hours as a cook to support his studies.
In Tokyo, Masaya takes after his father even more by living a carefree life as a bohemian slacker. He often poaches off of loan sharks and when that avenue becomes dry he poaches off his mother. Soon Masaya finds himself completely broke and all alone in Tokyo.
Then Masaya learns that his mother has become seriously ill. The news serves as a sort of wake up call for Masaya. He then slowly starts to put his life together. A few years later, Masaya becomes a successful illustrator and he invites his mother to live with him in Tokyo. Unfortunately, they find out that their time together may be fleeting.
“Tokyo Tower” is based on the best selling novel by Lily Franky. More than 2 million copies has been sold to date and the novel has also inspired a television show and play. I can’t vouch for the novel as I haven’t read it, but the movie at least opts to connect with the viewers through realistic moments of life shown between the mother and son, rather than forcing inflated sentimental moments upon the viewer. What really works in the film is the second half of the film where the adult Masaya (Joe Odagiri) lives with his now ill mother.
These moments are fresh in cinematic terms, not something you see often in films, and also moving in human terms, as the once irresponsible Masaya tries to make amends for his past. All the while, Eiko shows unconditional love for her son. The earlier parts of the film, with its many flashback scenes, felt more like a collection of introductory scenes made strictly to lay the groundwork for the second half of the film, rather than existing as genuinely interesting segments on its own.
The film also offers plenty of star power. Beyond Joe Odagiri and Kirin Kiki, there’s plenty of cameo appearances by such notable actors as Ayumi Ito, Aoi Miyazaki, Kyoko Koizumi, Ken Mistuishi, Takako Matsu, YosiYosi Arakawa, and Susumu Terajima. Kirin Kiki turned in the best performance of the lot, giving a truly memorable performance without any unneeded histrionics. Joe Odagiri was on the money for most of his screentime, though it seemed he came up a tad short on a few of the more emotionally demanding scenes toward the end of the film.
“Tokyo Tower Mom & Me and Sometimes Dad” takes a leisurely 142 minutes to tell its story and leaves out the forced dynamics that you may expect in such films. Because of this, the movie may or may not connect as well with foreign audiences. What the movie gets right (especially in the second half) is to remind you how priceless parental relationships are and to savor such moments. You would think its an obvious thing, but after watching “Tokyo Tower Mom & Me and Sometimes Dad,” it’s doubtful that anybody can take such moments for granted … if time still allows for such moments to exist.
Cast:
Joe Odagiri - Masaya (Boku)
Kirin Kiki - Eiko (Okan)
Takako Matsu - MizueYayako Uchida - Younger Okan
Kaoru Kobayashi - Oton
Kyoko Koizumi - Property agent
Hiroyuki Hirayama - Isoyama
Tomorowo Taguchi - Mailman
Susumu Terajima
Kumiko Tsuchiya - High school teacher
Aoi Miyazaki
Ayumi Ito
YosiYosi Arakawa
Ryo Iwamatsu
2007 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movies |
Feb
16
2008
I Just Didn’t Do It (Soredemo boku wa yattenai)
Posted by luna6 | 1 Comment
Movie Review : I Just Didn’t Do It | Soredemo boku wa yattenai
Release Date : January 27, 2007
Director : Masayuki Suo
Starring : Ryo Kase
Runtime : 143 min
Editor Rating : 7.5
(12 Votes, User Rating: 8.75)
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“I fought the law and the law won…”
When you hear that country X has a 99.99% conviction rate for criminal trials what country comes to your mind? China? Iran? North Korea? Well, that staggering number actually belongs to Japan and its the cornerstone behind the compelling legal drama “I Just Didn’t Do it.” A lawyer in the movie does explain that, technically speaking, the conviction rate is actually lower than 99.99%. If you take out the guilty pleas that occur, than the actual conviction rate falls to … 97%. Needless to say, numbers like these can only come about when the legal system has shifted its burden of proof from “innocent until proven guilty” to “guilty until proven innocent”.
In “I Just Didn’t Do It,” 26 year old Teppei Kaneko is late for an all important job interview. The morning rush hour subway train is about to leave the station. Teppei sees that the doors are about to close and makes a jump into the nearest cab train. A subway worker makes sure he fits into the overfilled train by pushing him further into the crowded mass. As soon as the doors close, Teppei realizes that the back of his coat jacket is stuck in the subway train door. Teppei maneuvers to pull his jacket out, but bumps into the lady on his right. He apologizes to her, but fiddles around again to get his jacket out. When the train stops again, Teppei walks off the train, but a young 15 year old girl grabs his hand and accuses him of groping her from behind.
Teppei goes to the police station, bewildered and shocked that he is accused of groping, but nonetheless confident that once he states his case the police will let him go. For Teppei, this is just the beginning of his long ordeal to prove that he just didn’t do it.
One of the most effective aspects of the film is the portrayal of Teppei’s state of mind during his long judicial ordeal. Representing the mindset of Japanese citizens at large, Teppei never questioned the astounding 99.99% conviction rate prior to his arrest, believing that the innocent would be found innocent regardless of that astounding statistics. In actuality the rigid Japanese legal system is built to extract guilty pleas as soon as possible and if it does go to trial, well it would be a slap to the face of the prosecutors and police officers to acquit the defendant.
It was also nice to see Ryo Kase take center stage in “I Just Didn’t Do It.” Known more for his many supporting roles in hip indie films like “Taste of Tea,” “Funky Forest,” “Sukida,” “Strawberry Shortcakes,” it seems Kase’s strong performance in “Letters from Iwo Jima” has opened the eyes of more mainstream directors like this film’s Masayuki Suo (Shall We Dance?). The sky’s really the limit for Ryo Kase.
Pacing in “I Just Didn’t Do It” is deliberate, without the dramatics you have seen in many other courtroom filled dramas. Because of this, the movie’s subjective (but comes across as objective) examination of the Japanese legal system will likely open the eyes of many to the flaws found within the Japanese legal system. More depth in the depiction of the police officers and prosecutors would have taken the film to spectacular heights, but as it stands, “I Just Didn’t Do It” is a very good film that’s easily digestible for the masses.
Cast:
Ryo Kase - Teppei Kaneko
Asaka Seto - Riko Sudo, Lawyer
Kohji Yamamoto - Tatsuo Saito
Masako Motai - Toyoko kaneko
Koji Yakusho - Masayoshi Arakawa, Lawyer
Hirotaro Honda - Hideo Mitsui
Yosuke Ishii - Keizo Hirayama
Toshiyuki Kitami - Takashi Miyamoto
Fumiyo Kohinata - Shogo Muroyama
Toru Masuoka - Seiichiro Tamura
Ken Mitsuishi - Mitsuru Sada
Nao Omori - Koji Yamada
Naoto Takenaka
If you like this movie you may enjoy: Sway
2007 Movie Reviews, Japanese Movies, Movies |
Feb
11
2008
On mini break - resume posting Feb 13th
Posted by luna6 | 2 Comments
…As title says…..
Etc. |
Feb
7
2008
Canonical to resell Parallels virtualization software through Ubuntu partner repository
Posted by luna6 | 1 Comment
Canonical, the commercial parent of the of the open source Ubuntu operating system and Parallels, maker of virtualization software for Windows, Linux, and Mac announced a partnership today to sell Parallels Workstation for Linux through Ubuntu’s Partner Repository. This allows Ubuntu users easy access to try and purchase Parallels software, while giving Canonical another revenue source for their sponsorship of the Ubuntu software. In the not so distant future you can say “sudo apt-get Parallels” and voila … virtualization baby!
From Press Release: Canonical Ltd, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, today announced the availability of Parallels Workstation for Linux through the Ubuntu Partner Repository – giving Ubuntu users the ability to quickly find, install and run Parallels software.
The Ubuntu Partner Repository and associated services from Canonical allow software providers to make their software readily available to Ubuntu users. The repository supplements the thousands of free and open source applications available through other Ubuntu repositories, and contains both proprietary and open source applications provided by Ubuntu Partners.
Parallels Workstation for Linux allows users to easily run multiple operating systems side-by-side on a single computer without rebooting. The deal with Parallels, Inc. makes the desktop virtualization product more readily available to Ubuntu users - residing in a drop down menu on the operating system.
“We have always been committed to providing Ubuntu users with choice,” said Randy Linnell, consumer services manager, Canonical. “Parallels is excellent virtualization technology which many users have requested. Being able to come to a commercial arrangement to make it available is great for Ubuntu users and the project itself. We look forward to users supporting it.”
“Partnering with Canonical is a great way for Parallels to bring user friendly desktop virtualization to the ever-expanding global community of Ubuntu users,” said, Bryan Goode, director of business development, Parallels. “Parallels Software provides Ubuntu users with added flexibility to any program from almost any operating system, without having to give up their Ubuntu desktop, even for a few minutes.”
Trial versions of the Parallels Workstation for Linux software are available through the Add/Remove function in Ubuntu and keys for permanent use can be purchased directly through shop.canonical.com or at www.parallels.com.
Feb
7
2008
Fedora 9 Alpha available via Jigdo
Posted by luna6 | 2 Comments
Fedora 9 Alpha was made available to the public earlier this week, which can be downloaded the traditional from one of Fedora’s mirrors. In the meantime, Fedora Unity has announced the availability of Fedora 9 via Jigdo. For people unfamiliar with the jiggy Jidgo, the application can save you a lot of bandwidth and time if you already have the data (maybe a local mirror or previously released media), and has been
proposed as a feature for Fedora 9. For more information on how to use Jigdo or pyJigdo visit here or here. Lastly, after you have installed jigdo or pyjigdo via Yum run it with the following Jigdo file : http://fedorahosted.org/pyjigdo/ .
News |
Feb
7
2008
Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend
Posted by mikespiegs | 2 Comments
Band: Vampire Weekend
Album: Vampire Weekend
Release Date: January 31, 2008
Website: http://www.vampireweekend.com/
Label: Xl Recordings
Editor Rating: 4.0
(19 Votes, User Rating: 7.84)
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For some reason these guys are hotter than a kitchen on fire right now. Everywhere you turn there is someone blogging about this band or talking about how awesome they are. I grabbed their EP to check it out… I mean, after all, the band is called Vampire Weekend and they should at least get credit for having an awesome name. After all the hype I was expecting to have an audio tidal wave blow me to the floor with greatness or something but unfortunately it didn’t happen. It just wasn’t, well, worth all the goddamn hype! I should have known better then to listen to a bunch of people that have nothing better to do than sit in front of their computer all day blogging about bands and shit… Oh, wait a minute… Yeah, OK, never mind that one.
Suffice to say, this self titled album is Vampire Weekend’s first, breaking their album cherry and bleeding hipness all over the internets and your cool friends’ stereos. The opening track makes use of what sounds like a Farfisa organ and sounds kind of like Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah or The Shins or something. It’s OK but I get the feeling that I’ve heard it before (maybe on that overhyped EP) and it doesn’t really do much for me. It’s not really bad or anything like that I guess. The next track “Oxford Comma” gets points for using the word “Oxford” but a shitload of negative points for sounding like an indie version of Barenaked Ladies. I can’t remember Barenaked Ladies’ super popular song but it sounds like that one, yeah… THAT one, whatever it is was called. “A-Punk” continues on that college rocky avenue using a ska sounding riff, overdone vocals and some organs. To my ears it sounds like these guys finally figured out how to make indie rock sound completely commercial and soulless. They sucked the very heart out of the music (like vampires) and created this dribble.
I’d like to say that I was perhaps overreacting and that the first few tracks were just a fluke but this is not the case. “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” sounds like a cheeseball 1980’s Paul Simon song. The Paul Simon songs that came waaay after the good Simon and Garfunkel stuff and even his early solo stuff. They name drop Peter Gabriel in the track so perhaps these dudes worship genesis and wanted to really hammer in the Paul Simon thing. If you wanted to be generous you could say they were taking a piece from Graceland, perhaps the only worthwhile thing Paul Simon did in the 80’s but that’s being just a tad bit too generous. The next track, “M79″, is more Paul Simon. The singer is actually a pretty good imitator of his vocals in the 80’s. We’ve got a little calypso action in the mix and all that stuff, they’ve even thrown some violins in the mix, yippee. Maybe he’s trying to sound like Sting too? The Police kind of rode on that same multinational post-hippie reggae crap wave too.
If I were to ignore my bias of absolutely hating this band, which I’ll do for a second, I would tell you that they sound like Talking Heads, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Interpol, Elvis Costello, The Police and Paul Simon while having unique vocals and minimal instrumentation that works to their advantage at times. …And that if you should run out and buy this album because it’s really great to hear all these influences on a new record. I suppose I could do that and to a certain extent it’s the truth, except for one tiny detail: this album sucks. If you like overproduced commercial sounding music then by all means, go for it. This is also not meant to imply that all commercial sound music is bad by any means. There are plenty of bands that sound commercial yet still put out albums that have integrity and sound good. Modest Mouse, love them or hate them, consistently put out albums that are true to their sound and don’t pander for an (wider) audience. Vampire Weekend though sounds insincere to me. I don’t really believe them. They stink of the same polish seen of presidential hopefuls making stump speeches. The kind of pop that you don’t really like… like Gwen Stefani, Garth Brooks or someone equally as terrible.
I wonder if I did not read about all the hype surrounding this band if I would have felt the same way. Thinking about it realistically I probably would have listened to a couple tracks and not really thought much about it. At least that’s what I think I would think. While completely non offensive from a complete outsider perspective I believe I would have just put this on the shelf next to the other disposable albums that are released every Tuesday. Alas, it’s up to you to make up your own mind. Hell, for all I know I’ll end up loving this album a year from now…
buy
Tracklist:
01. Mansard Roof
02. Oxford Comma
03. A-Punk
04. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa
05. M79
06. Campus
07. Bryn
08. One (Blake’s Got A New Face)
09. I Stand Corrected
10. Walcott
11. The Kids Don’t Stand A Chance
Feb
6
2008
Skype 2.0.0.43 beta for Linux
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Today, Skype has released a new beta version of Skype 2.0 for Linux. With the 2.x series, Skype for Linux now allows for video conferencing, group chats and conference calls with your Skype contacts. In addition, Skype 2.0.0.43 adds several new features (can use X11 overlay without Xv and several Click and Hold additional features), while addressing a large list of bugfixes. Linux users of Skype can download the Skype 2.0 beta here.
System Requirements
*Hardware:
o 1 Ghz processor or faster.
o 256 MB RAM.
o 20 MB free disk space on your hard drive.
o Microphone and speakers or headset.
o Internet connection (broadband is best, GPRS is not supported for voice calls, and results may vary on a satellite connection).
o Video card driver with Xv support.
* Software
o glibc 2.4
* Software (for static release)
o Qt 4.2.1+
o D-Bus 1.0.0
o libasound2 1.0.12
Release Notes
* Last build:
o 6.2.2008 Skype 2.0.0.43 for Linux Beta
+ feature: Additional X11 overlay output support for video calls (without using Xv).
+ feature: Automatic scrolling whilst highlighting in chat.
+ feature: Click-and-hold for Call button on contact card to make SkypeOut calls to contact’s Home, Office, Mobile numbers.
+ feature: Click-and-hold for Call button on incoming call popup to invite to conference call.
+ feature: Click-and-hold for Add/Search Contact button to give quicker access to Add/Search options.
+ feature: Preload all chats with a topic into event history.
+ feature: Show birthday present in contact card on contact’s birthday.
+ feature: Translations now also available in Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish and Thai.
+ bugfix: API: Don’t bring up new chat window for an empty chat from CHAT CREATE.
+ bugfix: API: Don’t respond to CALL command with OK.
+ bugfix: API: Starting conference calls with CALL skypenameA, skypenameB now works as expected.
+ bugfix: Allow user to change from a video device that no longer exists.
+ bugfix: Always expand the contact card by default in 1:1 chats.
+ bugfix: Bring chat window to the front if it is already open and is requested to be open.
+ bugfix: Change red cross to green tick when file transfer is completed.
+ bugfix: Chat find failure error dialog should be centred on the chat.
+ bugfix: Chat member list no longer accepts any keyboard focus.
+ bugfix: Clicking on the scrollbar in chat no longer loses focus on chat input area.
+ bugfix: Correctly show mute status for mute events that happen outside the call window.
+ bugfix: DBUS checkbox was offset in Options dialog.
+ bugfix: Don’t allow a conference call to be invited to a conference call.
+ bugfix: Don’t display Leave Chat dialog when using /leave feature, but still leave and close the chat window.
+ bugfix: Don’t double-escape spaces in file paths.
+ bugfix: Don’t remove current index when closing the last contact card.
+ bugfix: Don’t remove the old SkypeOut number before adding the new one on rename, incase it fails.
+ bugfix: Don’t send escaped version of the topic when changing topic.
+ bugfix: Don’t show age in birthday reminders for contacts born in the future.
+ bugfix: Don’t show the option to invite to a conference call when we are not the host.
+ bugfix: Escape should close Invite user to chat dialog.
+ bugfix: Escape should close error dialogs.
+ bugfix: Event history filter type is forgotten when switching between contact list and event history.
+ bugfix: File transfer widget didn’t update the number of people sending to when removing a transfer.
+ bugfix: Use ‘Call Failed’ notification when Voicemail fails or is cancelled.
+ bugfix: Fix a bug with speaking indicator conflicting with Call on Hold status messages.
+ bugfix: Fix a regression with Shift-Arrow/Ctrl-Arrow in main list.
+ bugfix: Fix crash in Rename Widget when trying to change to a PSTN number that’s too short.
+ bugfix: Fix crash on incoming conference call.
+ bugfix: Fix crash when entering short phone number in Add SkypeOut dialog.
+ bugfix: Fix escaping issues in Profile Viewer.
+ bugfix: Fix for a layout drawing bug in transfer window when adding to expanded transfer groups.
+ bugfix: Fix for issues with holding calls and duration continuing
+ bugfix: Fix for listview layout breakage when window is sized at minimum.
+ bugfix: Fix for menus appearing below the mouse cursor on buttons.
+ bugfix: Fix for tooltips disappearing elsewhere in the client during a call with technical call info enabled.
+ bugfix: Fix for topic editing bar remaining open after window switch.
+ bugfix: Fix minimum size being invalid in Invite users to chat dialog.
+ bugfix: Fix mute button and tooltip in fullscreen video widget.
+ bugfix: Fix some memory leaks and crashes related to historical calls.
+ bugfix: Fix stray selection area visible after clearing selection in chat.
+ bugfix: Hide Video button during a conference call.
+ bugfix: If you hangup on a conference call participant whilst sending them a voicemail, they couldn’t be invited again.
+ bugfix: Invite user to chat dialog should be centred on the chat.
+ bugfix: Listboxes in Options Dialog should stretch.
+ bugfix: Maintain avatar background colour during a sending-only video call.
+ bugfix: Make Ctrl-Space toggle the selection of the current contact on the contact list.
+ bugfix: Make Ctrl-V work when opening Call Ordinary Phones dialog.
+ bugfix: Make Speaking indicator a bit more reliable during status changes.
+ bugfix: Mouse cursor needs to be updated after moving over a link in chat and using the mouse wheel to scroll.
+ bugfix: Numbers in Skype chats open in user’s browser instead of calling in Skype.
+ bugfix: Open file paths in file browser, not Web browser.
+ bugfix: Pasting a new mood message with the middle mouse button wouldn’t save.
+ bugfix: Prevent empty new events panel bug to do with Calls/Birthdays.
+ bugfix: Ringing sound may not stop if inviting an incoming call to a conference call fails.
+ bugfix: Remember file transfer window location and size.
+ bugfix: Remove 25fps video send limit due to uvc driver fix.
+ bugfix: Remove over-complicated contact menu call actions.
+ bugfix: Removed 8) B) b) emoticon definitions.
+ bugfix: Scrollbar shouldn’t be scrollable when the chat window is empty.
+ bugfix: Search dialog could be resized below valid minimum size.
+ bugfix: Select previous name in Rename Contact when opening dialog.
+ bugfix: Sending an empty message to the API could crash the client.
+ bugfix: Show contact’s name instead of ellipses when shortening chat history.
+ bugfix: Show if a 1:1 call is held in the window title.
+ bugfix: Turning Auto-Away/NA option off would not save correctly. (#SCL-308)
+ bugfix: Update chat window when message is delivered/undelivered to correctly redraw layout.
+ bugfix: Update video preview to new device if applying changes in options dialog.
+ bugfix: Wrap words correctly in chat input box.
Feb
5
2008
Aoi Miyazaki to star in Kankuro Kudo’s “Shonen Meriken Sakku”
Posted by luna6 | Leave a Comment
Aoi Miyazaki, currently starring in the #1 movie in Japan “Kagehinata ni Saku” (Bloom in the Shade), has revealed plans to star in the upcoming comedy “Shonen Meriken Sakku” directed by Kankuro Kudo. Kankuro Kudo has written screenplays for “Maiko haaaan!!!”, “Ping Pong”, and “Go” and has acted in supporting roles for films like “The Sword of Alexander”, “Memories of Matsuko”, and “Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World.” This will be the third feature length film directed by Kankuro Kudo.
In “Shonen Meriken Sakku” Aoi Miyazaki plays an employee of a record company who is responsible for signing new bands. She’s not particularly good at her job and is on the verge of being fired. Good things happen when Aoi Miyazaki spots a punk band named “Shonen Meriken Sakku” on the internet. She recommends the band to her boss, who orders Miyazaki to find the band and get them signed to a contract. Unfortunately she doesn’t even like punk music.
Filming for “Shonen Meriken Sakku” starts this March.<