GANTZ: Live Action 1/20/11 Premiere!

 

Before I begin my (unprofessional) review of the GANTZ live action film, I want to preface it by saying that I have never read/watched the manga/anime (although I plan to now); therefore, if there were differences that were unsatisfying to the GANTZ otaku, unfortunately, for the moment, I can't sympathize - ごめん。

しましょうか？Let's begin! 

Last Thursday was the one night world premiere of the live action GANTZ film! The event was extremely significant for reasons beyond the amazing movie itself. This one night live event took place in Hollywood and was streamed in 333 theaters across the US. When you stop to think about it - isn't it amazing that a Japanese film could come to America and have the opportunity not only to set up an event of this magnitude, but do so successfully? It seems that anime and manga have come a long way since the Pokémon days, and I say Pokémon, not because Sailormoon and Speed Racer weren't successful anime in America, but it wasn't until the world was dominated by Pokémon that mainstream consciously recognized these cartoons as being Japanese.

I digress. 

Film Review:

First off, the film was, to the disappointment of many anime fans, dubbed. Yes, dubbing provides us with many "lol" moments where there shouldn't be any and often produces ear-stabbing audio, but not only did the storyline, gore, and graphics negate all the poor voice-acting choices, I think I can understand why it was dubbed and not subbed.  During the interview, Ninomiya-san (correct me if I'm wrong) stated that he hoped the film had left a positive lasting impression on many first-timers about Japanese films so that in the future they would look forward to seeing one again. 

Let's be fair long time anime/foreign film fans, our eyes have had years of speed read training with these subtitles, and I've experienced first hand the rejection (and laziness) that non-anime/foreign film people feel towards subtitles. 

The beginning of the film does a good job of grabbing your attention and the storyline keeps you hooked ( as do the sexy asian men :3 ) There is comedy, nudity, gore, love, a dash of pyscho - it was the perfect combination for a good sci-fi(ish) film. Oh and on some Nodame Cantabile type status, GANTZ leaves you hanging at the end. "And then just as he is about to strike... THE END! :) GO SEE THE SECOND MOVIE!" o___o;

It was a good introduction for a n00b to the GANTZ world, like myself, and probably a treat for the fans since they didn't force the whole series in a movie. Overall happy I got a chance to partake of this one-time event - I'd definitely do it again if/when the chance comes around!

So, for those of you who attended the premiere, what are your thoughts?

General question, what do you guys think about the whole subbing and dubbing issue with anime/foreign films?

La Tenoli

EVENT: Satoshi Kon double feature @ The Film Society!

This week's Tenoli Tuesday post will unfortunately not include scans of the January issue of SOUP (hopefully Kinokuniya has a copy of it today!) but it's still a great info hook up!
I know the day before any Eve's Eve, you always mean to do something but fall short coming up with plans other than the same ole' drinking bit, so for all those anime/Satoshi Kon fans out there, listen up!

The Film Society is having a Perfect Blue/Paprika double feature tomorrow in honor of the great Satoshi Kon himself who passed away earlier this year. The tickets for the general public are $12 ($18 for both movies). To all the poor students out there, bring your ID you can snag tickets for $9 each ($12 for both) and those who are members (we hate you), you get to watch 'em both for $10!
With the crazy expensive city prices, this shouldn't come as a surprise to any NY-er so shell out that cash and bring a friend you didn't manage to get a present for - kill two birds with one stone : )

For more info, check out the official page on the site at http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale/satoshikon.html
( via @nerdyorkcity )

Stay tuned for more Tenoli Tuesday posts!

La Tenoli

TENOLI TUESDAY!

お久しぶり！！(ohisashiburi!) It's been awhile huh guys?
I'm sorry for abandoning you all like that - real life's been a drag lately, but I've crawled out of my rut, and I'm ready for more Tenoli Tuesday / Japan NYC action!

And since I owe you guys at least 3 weeks worth of posts, I'm hoping to bombard you all with updates including a guest post by one of my good friends :)

So let's get it going!~

To ease myself back into things I figured I'd share some cool info I found on the net last night.

First off, HELLO KITTY THEME PARK recently opened in Odaiba! :3
Last fall while I was there I got a chance to ride the Hello Kitty ferris wheel, but it wasn't the whole 9 yards and I'd love to go back and experience a land of HK bliss. I wonder if it's just Kitty-chan herself or all her Sanrio pals. For more info from the source click on the link! 

Lights on the ferriswheel - It's kitty-chan's bow!

On the HK ferriswheel!

And the other info hook up comes from twitchfilm.com (can't find my twitter source /sadface ).

Well Satoshi Kon fans looks like our beloved Japanese director made sure to set things up so that production on his last project would continue despite his absence. I'm especially excited about seeing DREAMING MACHINE since Mr. Kon seems to have delved deeper into his dream obsession after PAPRIKA.  Of course I've got a direct link for you all right here!

I'm hoping to find time to film a video for you guys today - no more empty promises! (> o <)/

Till the next update!
Yours truly,

La Tenoli

JAPAN CUTS: Nightmare Detective II（ 悪夢探偵２）

On Wednesday, July 14th I attended the US Premiere of Nightmare Detective II at the Japan Society's cinema festival - Japan Cuts. The festival began on July 1st and ended on July 16th. Unfortunately I was only able to make it to this one screening despite having wanted to see Confessions, Sweet Little Lies, and Golden Slumber.

Having never seen Nightmare Detective before it's sequel, I thought it only fair to watch it before writing my review-ish blog post.  Luckily for me, I was able to watch Nightmare Detective II without any background necessary because the sequel is more like a prequel, as I will explain.

Nightmare Detective II is the story of a man with the ability to read the mind's of others and enter their dreams on will; however, this "gift" has been more a curse to him than anything else. In the movie we watch as Kagenuma struggles to understand why he has fallen victim to nightmares while attempting to solve a case that reminds him of the traumatic experiences during his childhood with his mother.

For those who fell in love with the Nightmare Detective, (and who couldn't) it would be hard to turn down a chance to see Kagenuma on screen again. Nightmare Detective was everything one would expect from a good horror movie - gory and psychologically thrilling. It was suspenseful and mysterious, giving away just enough during each scene to make us crave for more. THIS is what I would have expected from Nightmare Detective II; however, it was not the case. Nightmare Detective II was, to say the least, extremely confusing.  There are definitely parts of the movie, that otherwise explained further, don't make any sense existing - random dead school children that parade at night? It was hard telling when the characters were experiencing a dream or reality, and while this probably adds a little bit of mystery to the movie, it is never really explained later. I looked forward to the ending for some clarity, but was left with more of a "... huh?" feeling and nothing seemed resolved.

So for those of you who have seen Nightmare Detective and are curious to learn more about Kyoichi Kagenuma's past, it wouldn't hurt to see the sequel. I wouldn't recommend watching it before the first one though, because it might turn you off from giving Nightmare Detective a try.

Aside from the movie, the theater at the Japan Society was a good size and offered pretty comfy seating. There was also a small introduction given before the movie which I found helpful in learning  about the director and the movie's background.

I look forward to more of the Japan Society's events and next year's JAPAN CUTS.

La Tenoli

サイレント図書館 ( SILENT LIBRARY! )

MTV, the once all time music video channel, has become the go-to for some of the most retarded reality TV shows today, but I have to admit that I spent at least 3 hours last Wednesday watching SILENT LIBRARY.

Silent Library is a "japanese" tv show where 20-something year olds agree to let themselves test their torture resilience for a cash prize; of course since all of this is happening inside of a library you're expected to suffer in silence, I mean how else are the people trying to read and study around you supposed to get anything done?
Oh and just because you don't bellow out in pain doesn't mean you automatically win the cash for that round, all your other teammates need to keep their hyena laughter to a minimum as well.
Besides all the insane challenges, the Japanese host, with the straight face and corny phrases, makes things more amusing.
"Your determination is admirable; you win the cash."
"You failed me, no money!"




On another note, did you know the Ken Wantanabe is going to be in Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION? Leonardo DiCaprio has become my new Denzel Washington; basically, whenever I hear that Denzel has a new movie, I know right then and there that it's a MUST SEE. Do any of you have any actors you feel that way about?



I'm contemplating updating in between Tenoli Tuesday posts - we'll see how it goes. In the meantime check out my Tumblr - www.tenoli.tumblr.com

It's officially summer! How are you enjoying the first week?

La Tenoli

Japanese Cinema

Hola, 元気ですか？ Hope you're all doing well.

Before I begin with the bombardment of information for this week's Tenoli Tuesday post, I'll start off by saying that Brazil's win against North Korea today made my week! ! Did anyone catch that amazing first goal scored by Brazil?  Oh yes, it was love.


JAPAN CUTS: Festival of Contemporary Japan Cinema
So the Japan Society is hosting a Japanese film festival from JULY 1 through JULY 16.  I'm usually fearful of the word "contemporary" since it's often used to describe things that date back too far to be considered part of the "now", but rest assured that several of the movies that will feature in the festival are recent releases ( within the last year ).
 I'm really excited I'll have the chance to see one of the movies I couldn't during my time aboard last fall.　GOLDEN SLUMBER  / ゴールデンスランバー 

The movie will make its New York premiere on Friday July 2nd 

Best way to describe this movie - Eagle Eye meets Borne Identity, lol. Definitely a must see! 

I'd also recommend watching ZERO FOCUS / ゼロの焦点  - a mystery movie involving love triangles and vengeful bitches.  I'm considering making a date night out of it even though I already saw it, because I'm curious to see how well I was able to translate it the first time.

Premieres Friday July 9th @ 6:30

Check out the rest of the movies on the Japan Society website by clicking the link above & don't forget that on July 17th there will be a JapanTown Festival in NYC.  That Sunday is also the premiere of MadMen's fourth season.  Might just be the best weekend this year! July's looking more and more exciting for NYC Japan fans : ) 
EDIT: MadMen fourth season premieres on Sunday July 25th!


Hope you all enjoy the rest of the week - watch FIFA! ( Go Brazil! )


La Tenoli

Movies I want to see.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
December 25th.

Youth In Revolt

Up In The Air
Director of "Juno" and "Thank You For Smoking". It looks promising and it's got George Clooney, who doesn't like him? :)

Across The Hall
Already came out (12/4/09)
I wonder if this was the last movie Brittany Murphy made.

SIDE NOTE:

Another Robin Hood movie? This one's got Russell Crowe in it. Director of Gladiator. Still, I don't think I'd pay to see it in theaters. (2010)

&

For all those Robert Pattinson fans, there's "Remember Me" coming out next year.

How The Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer

"Love for a woman, depends on her age.
At 15, it's the one she loves.
At 20, it's the one that loves her.
At 30, it's whoever she can get.
At 40, RUN! The train's leaving!
At 50, it's whoever she can pay."

-The Old Men

So far, so good. I'm really liking this movie.

Buddha and Jesus = BFFL!

For the last two weeks I've seen commercials on TV about a new animated movie coming out called "The Rebirth of Buddha".
Just last week I saw an article that talked about an ongoing manga called "Sei Oniisan".
The story is something along the lines of "Buddha and Jesus are roommates in the mortal world, exploring the joys here and realizing how religion does/doesn't play a role in the everyday lives of people."
Judging from the review it may actually deserve a read before harsh judgment - they said it was a "comedy". So here's the link for the manga --> Oh Schnap!

and here's the trailer/song for the movie (not based on the manga). - this is all I could find for the moment.

New York, I Love You.

That I do.
Ever since "Paris, Je t'aime" I've been looking forward to this movie and all the other ones that I heard will follow. I would really like to buy all the movies and have a collection of them. It's a shame I won't be around in NYC this fall to see it in theaters but that's what the internet is for, lol.

Anyways, I posted up the trailer for you guys. Check it out. Go see the movie, should be good :)

Japanese Photo Booths are called "purikura" - at least these kind are.

I had such a great time with my friend Kaori! I'm really looking forward to hanging out with her again, and suddenly 3 and a half months doesn't seem like enough time!

There is a surprisingly large number of movies that make it here from the states.
I guess the next movie on our list is "My Sister's Keeper" and of course we'll rent a few Denzel Washington films. ( I made her a fan after "Subway 123" ) Inglorious Basterds comes out sometime in November - I think. Needless to say, I'm going to see that one too.
Are you thinking something along of the lines of "Well you're in Japan, why not see a Japanese movie?" - If you are, not to fear, I already picked out a good one. I think it's got samurai - Japanese enough for ya? lol, kiddin' kiddin' - no but seriously, I think it has samurai.

I'm lazy as hell with this uploading of pictures. Sorry guys! Hope these in between random posts are keeping you entertained in the meanwhile.

Ja!