An ear to the wind...
Tracking the world of economics, politics, education, science, literature, music, film, and anything that could be deemed interesting
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Is Anybody Home?!?!?!
The Departed won the Oscar for Best Picture. Seriously, WHAT THE F?!?!?! No words can express my anger right now. Just ridiculous.
Since when are the Oscars any kind of authority on whether movies are good or not? I lost most of my faith in that lot the year they passed up Amelie for best foreign film (IMO it was better than the actual Best Picture winner that year), but what set the nail on the lid was them nominating Keira Shitely for best actress last year when she botched Lizzie Bennet onscreen as badly as anyone can manage. Bah, I say.
Oh yeah. I was fairly shocked by the shitely (well put) nomination too. I wasn't too impressed by Jennifer Hudson in screamgirls. Maggie, I've now put Andy Lau on the top of my list of favorite actors. And Daniel Wu. I'm starting to like Chinese actors:)
Consider, "No Man's Land" that won Best Foreign Film over Amelie. It was an excellent movie in it's own right (I highly recommend it), but not better than Amelie. However, the political message that came de facto was a major reason why it won.
The Academy Awards have been plagued with controversy and poor choice for a long time, I guess we'll live with it. Remember "Citizen Kane"? or say "City of God"? "Malcom X", "Apocalypse Now"...
As for Scorcese's "The Departed", they didn't want a repeat of a Hitchcock and Kubrick. Might as well give it to him now for a crappy movie instead of all the brilliant stuff he's done before... morons. All in all there was a poor selection at the AA this year.
As for Lizzie Bennet, why was she always scowling on screen?
@Anusha: have you heard any of Mr. Lau's pop songs? He was quite the singer before he took on acting. You seem to be picking up all the pop idols of Chinese/Hong Kong ent. scene. First Lau then Daniel Wu. Look up Edison Chen, he fits this bill too.
If you're getting into Chinese movies, look out for Anthony Wong, Maggie Cheung, Stephen Chow and of course, Tony Leung (this guy is amazing!) Who can forget the legendary Chow Yun Fat.
nyspb: Scorcese's first thought after "The Departed" won Best Pic.
Keira Knightly can't act. She just pouts her way through a movie.
Hahaha @ Screamgirls. Yeah, Jennifer Husdon shouldn't have won cause her acting was nothing special. Rinko from Babel should've won that one. And yeah, Andy and Daniel are great, as are Maity's recommendations. And I would have to say check out all of Wong Kar-Wai's movies. He is, quite possibly, the best Chinese director ever.
Daniel Wu isn't a pop idol. Though he did have a band called Alive but him and his friends made it only for the purpose of making a mockumentary out of it. He is hella hot, though...haha. Edison Chen??? Oy, I personally think his music is pure crap. He's a wannabe rapper and he cannot act his way out of a paper bag.
Other good Chinese singers: Jackie Cheung (his old stuff, anyway), Leslie Cheung (good actor as well), Jay Chou (when he doesn't rap), Teresa Teng (she's a legend), David Tao, and Faye Wong (her older stuff).
Fine Daniel Wu isn't a pop idol and Edison Chen sucks. Did you see Initial D? Proved one thing, Jay Chou has the acting talent of depressed beaver. But his theme song was excellent... I think, see for yourself:
And yeah Wong Kar-Wai is amazing... I've seen most of his stuff (some of the advantages of working in the media library), but "Chungking Express" is my fav. But if I'm in a sentimental mood, def. "In the mood for love"...What a performance by Maggie Cheung.
Hanging out with Hann over summer in Europe, I've actually heard Leslie Cheung and Faye Wong and a few other names which have taken shelter in an obscure part of my brain. Hann, also had a weird collection of Cantonese rap, those were just classic!
No, I haven't seen Initial D. Is it the same calibur stuff as Fast and the Furious? Hahahaha @ depressed beaver. That's a interesting way to put it. Supposedly, he's much like a depressed beaver in real life, as in very anti-social.
The theme song is alright, save for the rap parts, which are like half the song... I don't know why but I just can't seem to take a liking to Chinese rap. Except for this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA687ogk3tY (Don't mind the crappy video...haha)
Looked up Tony Lueng. Infernal affairs chap. All the biggies were in that movie. I'll look up the others.. I know the song "ni wen wo ai ni you..."by hart. First song I was taught:) Tell me maggie, have you seen The Banquet. Who kills Zhang Ziyi in the end? My Chinese friend says that the king does not die when he sips the wine and hence he kills her. But the king did sip the wine, because when the glass fell, there was no wine in it. ..This has been bugging me for some time
Anusha: What's the song you're referring to? I don't think I've heard of Hart. Unfortunately, I have not seen The Banquet. However, I did look it up on wikipedia so hope this helps answer your questions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Banquet_%282006_film%29 I still have not been able to bring myself to watch another Zhang Ziyi movie since the atrocious Memoirs of a Geisha. She is so overrated.
I heard it was uncomfortable for a lot of people that the major players in "Memoirs..." were all cast as non-Japanese.
"2046" was excellent, I'm still not sure whether it should be treated as a sequel to "In the mood..." though.
Yeah "Infernal Affairs" had quite a stellar cast, a lot like "The Departed" actually. All these guys ended up doing "Initial D" as well, but it turned out to be pretty disappointing. "Hero" and was another great movie with a great cast.
"The Banquet" was as bad as "House of Flying Daggers". Both had angle endings... you know, leave it to the audience kind... for all you know it could have been a time traveling mystical blade that killed her.
@everyone talking about Amelie: see, that's why I had a problem with the fact of what they chose over it. I've seen No Man's Land, and maybe I'm biased because I still like Amelie better, but I don't think the fact of one film's having a political message automatically qualifies it as great over another. I had an absolutely horrific experience watching House of Flying Daggers... I bought the tickets expecting the movie to be subtitled, but it turned out it was dubbed into English...by Indians. Punju Indians, no less. I've never heard a crappier dubbing of anything into anything, before or since. Between July and September of last year, I think I saw more Chinese movies than English ones. The last one was called Three Times, which I mainly watched for the costumes- nothing spectacular, it was just that they were from three different eras and it was interesting looking at the contrasts.
haha..maggie..Not someone named "hart". I meant I know it by rote..as in know the whole song. It's supposedly this timeless love song. The counterpart to "as time goes by"..
Yeah, a lot of people (on both sides) were in an uproar that Chinese actresses were playing the main parts. I mean, yeah, there's a history there but come on, it's a movie directed by Americans that is based on a book written by a white guy about his convos with a real life geisha who later sued him. I'm more upset that they didn't get an actress who could actually speak English for the most important character. Zhang Ziyi's English was so bad, I'd rather she spoke Chinese.
House of Flying Daggers was utterly horrible. That's what I get for only seeing a movie because Takeshi Kaneshiro was in it.
I've never seen No Man's Land but oh how I love Amelie and its soundtrack.
Anusha: Haha..whoops, sorry. After that little tidbit and a bit of racking my brain, I finally figured out which song you're talking about. It's "Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin" by Teresa Teng, which translates to "The Moon Represents My Heart." And you're right, it's such a classic! Who taught you that song, a teacher? My mom actually taught herself how to speak Mandarin by listening to songs such as Teresa Teng's. Wish I could do that...
Since when are the Oscars any kind of authority on whether movies are good or not? I lost most of my faith in that lot the year they passed up Amelie for best foreign film (IMO it was better than the actual Best Picture winner that year), but what set the nail on the lid was them nominating Keira Shitely for best actress last year when she botched Lizzie Bennet onscreen as badly as anyone can manage.
ReplyDeleteBah, I say.
Oh yeah. I was fairly shocked by the shitely (well put) nomination too. I wasn't too impressed by Jennifer Hudson in screamgirls.
ReplyDeleteMaggie, I've now put Andy Lau on the top of my list of favorite actors. And Daniel Wu. I'm starting to like Chinese actors:)
"Relax, Joel, it's all political..."
ReplyDeleteConsider, "No Man's Land" that won Best Foreign Film over Amelie. It was an excellent movie in it's own right (I highly recommend it), but not better than Amelie. However, the political message that came de facto was a major reason why it won.
The Academy Awards have been plagued with controversy and poor choice for a long time, I guess we'll live with it. Remember "Citizen Kane"? or say "City of God"? "Malcom X", "Apocalypse Now"...
As for Scorcese's "The Departed", they didn't want a repeat of a Hitchcock and Kubrick. Might as well give it to him now for a crappy movie instead of all the brilliant stuff he's done before... morons. All in all there was a poor selection at the AA this year.
As for Lizzie Bennet, why was she always scowling on screen?
@Anusha: have you heard any of Mr. Lau's pop songs? He was quite the singer before he took on acting. You seem to be picking up all the pop idols of Chinese/Hong Kong ent. scene. First Lau then Daniel Wu. Look up Edison Chen, he fits this bill too.
If you're getting into Chinese movies, look out for Anthony Wong, Maggie Cheung, Stephen Chow and of course, Tony Leung (this guy is amazing!) Who can forget the legendary Chow Yun Fat.
nyspb: Scorcese's first thought after "The Departed" won Best Pic.
Anusha reminded me of Initial D... the theme song, "Piao Yi" by Jay Chou ...brilliant.
ReplyDeleteKeira Knightly can't act. She just pouts her way through a movie.
ReplyDeleteHahaha @ Screamgirls. Yeah, Jennifer Husdon shouldn't have won cause her acting was nothing special. Rinko from Babel should've won that one. And yeah, Andy and Daniel are great, as are Maity's recommendations. And I would have to say check out all of Wong Kar-Wai's movies. He is, quite possibly, the best Chinese director ever.
Daniel Wu isn't a pop idol. Though he did have a band called Alive but him and his friends made it only for the purpose of making a mockumentary out of it. He is hella hot, though...haha. Edison Chen??? Oy, I personally think his music is pure crap. He's a wannabe rapper and he cannot act his way out of a paper bag.
Other good Chinese singers: Jackie Cheung (his old stuff, anyway), Leslie Cheung (good actor as well), Jay Chou (when he doesn't rap), Teresa Teng (she's a legend), David Tao, and Faye Wong (her older stuff).
GREAT Stephen Chow clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC30Vcn5GYY
ReplyDeleteFine Daniel Wu isn't a pop idol and Edison Chen sucks. Did you see Initial D? Proved one thing, Jay Chou has the acting talent of depressed beaver. But his theme song was excellent... I think, see for yourself:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9p2-A2kc2Y&mode=related&search=
The Stephen Chow video was brilliant btw!
And yeah Wong Kar-Wai is amazing... I've seen most of his stuff (some of the advantages of working in the media library), but "Chungking Express" is my fav. But if I'm in a sentimental mood, def. "In the mood for love"...What a performance by Maggie Cheung.
Hanging out with Hann over summer in Europe, I've actually heard Leslie Cheung and Faye Wong and a few other names which have taken shelter in an obscure part of my brain. Hann, also had a weird collection of Cantonese rap, those were just classic!
No, I haven't seen Initial D. Is it the same calibur stuff as Fast and the Furious? Hahahaha @ depressed beaver. That's a interesting way to put it. Supposedly, he's much like a depressed beaver in real life, as in very anti-social.
ReplyDeleteThe theme song is alright, save for the rap parts, which are like half the song... I don't know why but I just can't seem to take a liking to Chinese rap. Except for this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA687ogk3tY (Don't mind the crappy video...haha)
At least Babel didn't win best picture. That movie sucks eggs.
ReplyDeleteJust saw a great Chinese movie: 2046.
I think No Man's Land was brilliant. The Oscar types are uncomfortable with comedies, and Amelie falls loosely in that category.
Looked up Tony Lueng. Infernal affairs chap. All the biggies were in that movie. I'll look up the others..
ReplyDeleteI know the song "ni wen wo ai ni you..."by hart. First song I was taught:)
Tell me maggie, have you seen The Banquet. Who kills Zhang Ziyi in the end? My Chinese friend says that the king does not die when he sips the wine and hence he kills her.
But the king did sip the wine, because when the glass fell, there was no wine in it.
..This has been bugging me for some time
2046, was the movie with the brilliant soundtrack.Makes me so sad when I listen to it..
ReplyDeleteAnusha: What's the song you're referring to? I don't think I've heard of Hart. Unfortunately, I have not seen The Banquet. However, I did look it up on wikipedia so hope this helps answer your questions: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Banquet_%282006_film%29 I still have not been able to bring myself to watch another Zhang Ziyi movie since the atrocious Memoirs of a Geisha. She is so overrated.
ReplyDeleteI heard it was uncomfortable for a lot of people that the major players in "Memoirs..." were all cast as non-Japanese.
ReplyDelete"2046" was excellent, I'm still not sure whether it should be treated as a sequel to "In the mood..." though.
Yeah "Infernal Affairs" had quite a stellar cast, a lot like "The Departed" actually. All these guys ended up doing "Initial D" as well, but it turned out to be pretty disappointing. "Hero" and was another great movie with a great cast.
"The Banquet" was as bad as "House of Flying Daggers". Both had angle endings... you know, leave it to the audience kind... for all you know it could have been a time traveling mystical blade that killed her.
@everyone talking about Amelie: see, that's why I had a problem with the fact of what they chose over it. I've seen No Man's Land, and maybe I'm biased because I still like Amelie better, but I don't think the fact of one film's having a political message automatically qualifies it as great over another.
ReplyDeleteI had an absolutely horrific experience watching House of Flying Daggers... I bought the tickets expecting the movie to be subtitled, but it turned out it was dubbed into English...by Indians. Punju Indians, no less. I've never heard a crappier dubbing of anything into anything, before or since.
Between July and September of last year, I think I saw more Chinese movies than English ones. The last one was called Three Times, which I mainly watched for the costumes- nothing spectacular, it was just that they were from three different eras and it was interesting looking at the contrasts.
haha..maggie..Not someone named "hart". I meant I know it by rote..as in know the whole song. It's supposedly this timeless love song. The counterpart to "as time goes by"..
ReplyDeleteYeah, a lot of people (on both sides) were in an uproar that Chinese actresses were playing the main parts. I mean, yeah, there's a history there but come on, it's a movie directed by Americans that is based on a book written by a white guy about his convos with a real life geisha who later sued him. I'm more upset that they didn't get an actress who could actually speak English for the most important character. Zhang Ziyi's English was so bad, I'd rather she spoke Chinese.
ReplyDeleteHouse of Flying Daggers was utterly horrible. That's what I get for only seeing a movie because Takeshi Kaneshiro was in it.
I've never seen No Man's Land but oh how I love Amelie and its soundtrack.
Anusha: Haha..whoops, sorry. After that little tidbit and a bit of racking my brain, I finally figured out which song you're talking about. It's "Yue Liang Dai Biao Wo De Xin" by Teresa Teng, which translates to "The Moon Represents My Heart." And you're right, it's such a classic! Who taught you that song, a teacher? My mom actually taught herself how to speak Mandarin by listening to songs such as Teresa Teng's. Wish I could do that...