visions of clarity...do as infinity

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Red Cliff / 赤壁

Hello

Today I went to watch 赤壁, the movie [according to John Woo himself from Wiki] which would use primarily the historical record Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms as a blueprint for the Battle of Red Cliffs, rather than the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As such, traditionally vilified characters such as Cao Cao and Zhou Yu will be given a more historically accurate treatment in the film. To which I say... Rubbish! My mom claims it's still been dramatised so.. O well.=D It was a good movie and I really enjoyed it, whether it's historically accurate or not.

The film has an outstanding cast made of a mix of actors from China and Japan:
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai as Zhou Yu 周瑜
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang 诸葛亮
Zhang Fengyi as Cao Cao 曹操
Chang Chen as Sun Quan 孙权
Zhao Wei as Sun Shangxiang
Hu Jun as Zhao Yun 赵云
Lin Chi-ling as Xiao Qiao 小乔
Nakamura Shido as Gan Xing (甘興) (based on Gan Ning)
You Yong as Liu Bei 刘备
[from Wikipedia]
There are a dozen other characters but you'll probably fall asleep reading through the whole list so..

Anyway, the movie is great! It's exciting, keeps you interested and is shot well with lots of nice camera angles.=) I really didn't like some of the battle scenes though. I know it's a movie about the war between the 3 kingdoms but GOSH.. They wasted so many packets of fake blood! =( Those were the pretty commercialised Hollywood bits I guess.. Along with the whole "epic computer generated scenes".=P But some of the scenes were cool because you got to see their fabulous generals being all cool and everything on the battle field!! HAHA.=P かっこいい!

And of course, everything got better when Takeshi and Tony Leung appeared. ;) MWAHAHA. Ahem. I think they are very good actors. Chang Chen too! ^_^

Okay. Where was I?

The plot was good, fast-paced and exciting, it was full of plotting, fighting and strategizing. ^_^ I realized that I really like these strategic period war films.=P Haha.. Without the use of modern technology, they come up with so many brilliant ways of fighting and seeking an advantage over their enemy. [Code Geass has brilliant stuff too but in a more modern context..] The fantastic cast held the show together and had great chemistry among them as they plotted and schemed. I have a feeling Takeshi and Tony Leung find their partnership rewarding because this isn't the first time they are collaborating in a film. I really enjoyed the whole film and was terribly annoyed when it ended, reminding the audience of part 2 coming soon.

On the aesthetics side, the camera angles used and the soundtrack as well as the rich settings and costumes all added on to the grandiose feeling of the film. The epic scale was well-depicted from the luxurious palaces and sumptuous clothing of the characters to the computer-generated battlefields and even to the massive numbers of soldiers [aka Stuntmen] they had to employ. I liked their filming angles because they were rather interesting though I thought the scene where Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang were playing the qin and they freeze-framed some parts were very strange.=S The music chosen [and composed by a Japanese composer] wasn't traditionally Chinese yet retained an Asian influence which I liked very much.=) I'm quite the sucker for movie soundtracks so do forgive me.

The ambitions of the ancient people are scary to say the very least.. If they don't like you and they have enough power, off your head goes! And of course, as Zhao Wei's character reiterated, women at that time were treated like pawns in a political game, moved around at the convenience of political alliances.

This really reminds of my Fuurin Kazan which was also set during a warring period in Japan. =) The similarities are astounding and very fascinating considering both countries are so close to each other and yet also are culturally dissimilar. They all follow ancient warring methods devised by those horrendously geniusy people in China and utilize similar weaponry: cavalry, spears, cannons, arrows, swords. Hmm. I guess the last bit would apply to all armies at that time. Haha.=X But it's surprisingly similar. And very interesting to watch..

All in all, I really liked 赤壁 and am looking forward to the second installment! =D Hopefully they show it in the US because the effects can only really be seen on a cinema screen.. =D =D =D And the next episode features Zhuge Liang's [acted by Takeshi] machinations!!! Yummy.=D

O dear just saw this on wiki:

The film is expected to be released in two versions: within Asia, Red Cliff is to be released in two parts totaling over four hours in length, with the first part premiering in July 2008 and the second in January 2009. Outside of Asia, a single 2½ hour film will be released in January 2009.

=( Looks like I'll have to buy the DVD!!!

We went to PS Cafe for lunch and it's brilliant.=D On the expensive side, but brilliant. Thankfully the food and ambience were good, because I was REALLY annoyed when they told me no photos allowed.-_-"

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Code Geass music + Fuurin Kazan music + 赤壁 OST]
[mood : =D]
[food : Chocolate Blackout!]

Liu-yi: If you don't mind giving it to me, I don't mind taking it!! ^_^ ありがとう!

Labels: dorama, fuurin kazan, movie review, Red Cliff

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Ruri no ame

O SQUEALS!

NEW ALICE NINE. PV AGAIN! Because they released TSUBASA. and ruri no ame concurrently, we get 2 [TWO!] marvellous PVs! Of the very very very hot alice nine. guys!!! =D =D =D [Although I don't think TSUBASA. is a very strong song.] And to prove my point:

Shou!!! =D =D =D In some.. beautifully random Japanese house. Hahaha.

SAGA!! xD xD xD *dies* Saga is looking better and better.

NAO!!! All angsty and everything.xD xD xD

Why o why is Gackt languishing in the darkness while alice nine. is shining in the spotlight? The latest check has revealed that he's recording a new song though. Yatta!

But I must catch up on my Fuurin Kazan episodes!!! (T_T) Work has been taking precious laptop-languishing time away from me. Oh the sadness. I have many many anime episodes to watch. Many many drama episodes to finish. And many many hideously long pages of readings to do. (T_T)

And Japanese is getting SO HARD!!! And there are so many nouns!!! And adjectives!!! And verbs!!! O my lord the verbs!! Weeps.

Okay. I need to go for Philosophy! Some good news though, I did quite okay for my Psychology exam! ^_^ Though the same cannot be said for Japanese. My score dipped. Weeps.
cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : ruri no ame alice nine.]
[mood : o(X___x)o]
[food : CHESSMEN!]

Jiamin: I did admittedly forget but when you showed me the celebratory pictures, I knew why immediately. *hangs head in shame* I'm sorry Jaaminzu. I'm a bad bad friend. And you should try to stay ahead! Although it might be a little late to say it. X__x

Joyce: Weather in Michigan is INSANE! Seriously. It's cool again today though still not cool enough. Hrmph. I think 10 degrees or so is nice if it's also sunny. Haha.

ViQue: Hope your exams went okay! ^_^ From my knowledge, Gackt's email address has usually been distributed only amongst Dears members and even so, I don't think they get to send to his personal email but rather the "Dears email to Gackt" account? Haha. There's a link on the site though, that allows you to email Gackt.^_^ He rarely replies but it has happened so if you do want to email him, you can do so.=)

Labels: alice nine, anime, fuurin kazan, Gackt, Japanese Lessons, misc, umich

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

ぷりくら!

Hello!

=D I finally remembered to scan in the purikura that we took in Japan.=D =D =D Gosh it was so cheap! *squeals with delight* We would've taken more but we didn't have enough time.(T_T)

I scanned in everything but didn't crop everything so here are the ones I cropped out:

Ohhh we got totally sunburnt in Osaka on the first day.X__x Seriously. The sun there is as strong as it is here!!! Just that here, I don't generally walk under the sun for such a long time. I was slathering on sunblock after that...

電車! ^_^ Being tourists [and poor ones at that..], we spent lots of time travelling on the trains. We usually took the subway or the JR line [because we could ride free with the JR pass! ^_^] and when travelling further, the shinkansen [again, it's included in the JR pass.^_^]. It's generally easier to take a train since every station is clearly labelled and the schedule is usually on time [unlike buses which can be affected by traffic].

^_^ I have the most retarded expression known to man.X__x But it's cute no? Haha. The Japanese have hundreds of different kinds of purikura machines and some of them are so pretty! ^_^

Creepy? =P We did try our best. Haha. I love how they have matching little pictures for the different scenarios in the purikura repertoire.=P

原宿のぷりくら! ^_^ Purikura is actually written in katakana but urhhh I don't know katakana so yes. Hiragana it is.=P Harajuku is full of purikura shops because after a day of cosplaying on Sundays, all the cosplayers/gothic lolitas/etc etc will go to the purikura shops to take photos and commemorate that day's outfits.^_^ And really. They are total camwhores. Taking pictures with their phones ain't enough. They have to take purikura too. ;)

^_^ Japan! I realised that this is the first time I posted pictures of my "short" hair [it's short to me and mid-length to everyone else.O.o]. Haha. It's growing out now in the most hideous fashion though.^_^"

I actually miss taking purikura. We haven't taken any in a really long time and it's actually fun though pretty retarded and pointless. Haha.=P Oh the uselessness of youthful things...

There are some pictures of food in my camera that I have yet to upload and blog about.X__x But lately I've been catching up on anime! ^_^ And I've also started watching　風林火山 or Fuurin Kazan, the latest period drama by NHK. It started off REALLY boring but it's progressed to a much more interesting plot line now.^_^ I'm dying to see how the characters switch sides and what not because after discovering a book in Kinokuniya about this and reading the blurb, I know what roles the characters will eventually take. Gackt is also acting in this so I must press on!!! And if his character annoys me/it gets really boring/there's nothing to hook me on to it, I might just drop the series after seeing his appearance.xP

風林火山 is actually based on a "true story" or rather, on historical events. It reflects the warring period of Japan [sounds a lot like China doesn't it? 三国演义!] and focuses on Yamamoto Kansuke, a man who eventually is known as a great strategist in war. Or something like that. =X I'm thankful that the plot has started moving along because episode 1 almost killed me from boredom.X__x Not a very good start. But anyway. After every episode, they will feature a place that is talked about in the show in the modern context. For example, because there is a clan called "Hojo" in the show, this "traveller's journal" will show you what has now become of their fief and give you details on the place and how to get there.^_^

風林火山 is the basis of an ancient warring method. Or something to that effect. This 成语 is based on these four lines:

其疾如风 - swift as the wind
其徐如林 - silent as the forest
侵掠如火 - conquer like the fire
不动如山 - unmovable as the mountain

^_^ Reciting it makes you feel really smart. Haha. I'm pretty sure some of this came from the Chinese but as always.. Would the Japanese admit that? Certainly not.

In any case, I think it might be a good way to get young people interested in their history of Japan.=) And even visit these sites during a long weekend or something! Maybe I should watch 三国演义 and get "in touch" with Chinese history? O__o Or maybe I should just read my dad's 武侠小说! Hahaha. -_-"

The sad thing about Fuurin Kazan is that there are no good-lookers in it at all. SIGH. Barely any motivation to watch besides Gackt and a potentially interesting storyline. Maybe if they cast some goodlooking guys in a remake of 三国演义, I'll be more interested. Haha.=P

cheers
*[-witchstone-]*

[music : Prism Ayako Ikeda (Dennou Coil OST) + SEASON'S CALL HYDE]
[mood : ^_^]
[food : --]

Wendaye: Yes! I was waiting for you to come back so we can start blogging and urhhh not have to deal with an ugly template.X__x I can't find spoon brushes though. Weeps! And squeaks! I forgot to take photos of the depachika!!! [The basement food halls in department stores in Japan.] X__x I urh. Took photos of the markets? Hahaha.=P You must share your Harrod's food hall photos! The food there is shockingly expensive. Tsk! But couldn't you find any French pastry stores in Harrod's? Or those... chichi areas? O_o And at least you have the POTENTIAL to eat good food in London! What's there in Michigan? SNOW. -_-" So yes. Comfort thyself! Haha.

Labels: anime, fuurin kazan, Japan, neoprints

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