10/18/2005 - Inquiry Regarding OLDBOY, passed 14 September, 2004 |
To whom it may concern,
I am writing in regards to the South Korean action/thriller film Oldboy, directed
by Chanwook Park and passed without cuts by the board on the 14th
September, 2004 in the hopes that you can confirm a matter of small
concern for me.
I should first clarify that I have
long been a fan of Asian cinema, in particular the rich number of
special effects and action films that have been produced in not only
Korea, but also Hong Kong and Japan over the past few decades however
the issue of South Korea's record in regards to animal rights not least
most in cinema is still a concern for me.
With many films where stunts and
effects have not been used but rather actual animals have been harmed
on set it is important to understand the context and the era of the
film. I am well aware of the trip-wires used in American Western
serials during the 1930s and 1940s just as I'm aware of sequences where
animals have died on film in late 1970s and early 1980s Hong Kong
action films. The case of Cannibal Holocaust and the 1980s Italian horror 'video nasties' is another sad milestone in this history of animal abuse and I am pleased that Cannibal Holocaust remains cut in this country even to this day.
The removed 1 minute and 44 seconds of footage from Kim Ki-duk's The Isle was a decision that I fully support and am pleased to see the BBFC continuing to police this issue.
Which brings me neatly to Oldboy and
the perhaps urban myth about the live squid consumed by the central
character on film being an actual live animal. I am hoping that you can
resolve this issue once and for all and confirm for me the true nature
of this footage. I would be more than happy, if the footage involves an
elaborate animatronics or effects piece, to put my money down in
support of this film however at present I find myself unable to do so
due to the stigma of possibility. There is also the concern that if
such a set piece was filmed with the use of a live squid I would like
to know exactly what the justification of this film being passed
without censor is.
I apologise if the nature of this
email is somewhat rambling and I look forwards to your response. Thank
you once again and my apologies for raising such a distasteful issue. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
10/17/2005 - Daikaiju Gamera |
Cast/Crew
of note: Kitahara Yoshiro (Kamen Rider Amazon, The Water Margin),
Hamamura Jun (
Lone Wolf and Cub: Perambulator Against the Winds of
Death), Fujiyama Koji (Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Land of
Demons, Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell), Yuasa Noriaki
(director of Ultraman 80 and also worked on Denjin
Zaboga)
It should be noted that just about everyone who appeared
in 1965's Gamera the Invincible also featured in at least one other
Gamera film or one of the many films in the long-standing Zatoichi
series. As mentioned on the film's respective imdb page the dubbing is done by
Sandy Frank's 'prolific' voice artists, notorious for their adaptation of
Tatsunoko's Gatchaman as Battle of the Planets and isn't entirely
awful. Don't get me wrong, the acting is far from perfect but there's enough of
a distance between the film's release and the present day to excuse it.
The
suit and model effects are as good as you would expect and I honestly say that
with the greatest of respect. Whilst there isn't that much of a difference in
technical achievement between the film and 1954's Godzilla (which it has
been endlessly compared with since its release) the way in which these sequences
are filmed is enough to hold the story together. I often find there's not much I
can actually say about a film like this as I am loathe to speak ill of it, being
a genre that I was raised watching. The ever present central scientist figure
with his Earth shattering revelations of the fact that '...Gamera's
metabolism is completely different from human beings' and the child hero's
happy optimism at the manner in which Gamera is dispatched are all minor
irritations born from the genre and the period more than anything else.
I just want it to be known that, despite what monster films tell you,
there is no breathable atmosphere on Mars, nor are there any oceans. Remember
that, kids. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
10/13/2005 - Anime Janai ~ Yume o Wasure |
With
rumours rife of VRanger being Toei's series plan for 2006, I finally had
a chance to watch the opening episode of the first series in the franchise, the
heavily Ishinomori inspired/influenced Himitsu Sentai Goranger. The stark
difference between the opening of Goranger and any modern sentai series
is incredible. Many people seem to regard both this series and the following
year's JAKQ as being nothing but sentai series rather than a part of the
Super Sentai franchise, indeed the Turboranger: 10 Years of Sentai
ignores both the teams and only includes Battle Fever J (the apparent
accepted beginning of the franchise) through to Turboranger. There's
probably good justification for this. Despite later crediting these two early
series in HyakuJuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai, there's a real
difference in the way these shows are structured. Even the most cursory glance
at Joe Rovang's Sentai Sanctorum
reveals a severe lack of what many people have come to expect from the
franchise: there are no giant robots (transforming or not), no familiar sentai
style 'goggle' masques (as Mister Rovang so rightly terms them) and no
additional sixth warrior.
When confronted with Sun Vulcan, I was
shocked by how much it had in common with late 70s/early 80s adventure
programmes. In a similar way Goranger has much more in common with shows
like Monkey and The Water Margin or the original Kamen
Rider than it does the current sentai franchise. There's a lot of faith
invested that, despite current trends, despite how many mechs are introduced per
series and the increasing number of shows that tend to have entire casts
composed of popular teen magazine models, despite how much the world
changes around it, the Super Sentai franchise shall remain the same, as true now
to the memory of Goranger as it was ten years ago and it will be ten
years from now. This is, of course, utter rubbish. As an example, both
Goranger and Magiranger are very much products of their time. If I
had no prior knowledge of the franchise I wouldn't assume that, beyond the faint
surface value of being suited heroes, they had anything in common in much the
same way that I've never assumed that 80s robot anime really had anything more
than a distant ancestral relationship with the CGI blandness of Beast
Wars. Perhaps that's just me not taking things at anything more than face
value, however.
To return to the point, Goranger is again, like
Sun Vulcan (which aired roughly six years after Goranger's debut),
an adventure series featuring themes and action the likes of which are not only
lost in modern tokusatsu but other mediums, such as anime. There's a lot to
recommend Goranger to fans of Gatchaman and other Tatsunoko shows,
just as I can imagine the show appealing to fans of Ishinomori's work,
especially Cyborg 009 (indeed it's almost tempting to hail Cyborg
009 as the direct parent of Goranger). Watching Goranger it's
hard to imagine it leading to the grotesque over-acting and gimmickry of
Power Rangers and Magiranger.
A while back (several years)
there were a series of images posted on either supersentai.com or Thai Toku from one of the live sentai shows
that depicted a meeting between the characters of Gingaman and Goranger.
Whilst
these stages shows are put on every year and are nothing more than elaborate
stunt shows by a trained crew in the costumes of any particular Toei toku
series, there's an appeal to the idea of a meeting between the Goranger
characters and their modern offspring. Perhaps it's my need to see a wider
structure in place for the Toei tokusatsu stable of shows. Gaoranger vs.
Super Sentai hinted at the idea of a shared continuity and I cling to that,
despite how impossible it would be to fit all of the shows comfortably in one
universe. There are a handful of shows though that would fit nicely together
just as there are some that would rest awkwardly alongside each other but
produce interesting results. Setting the Goranger-tachi up alongside any of the
more recent casts would certainly achieve interesting results.
It's a
shame that, in the time it's taken me to write the opening line of this article
to now, the idea of a Goranger-influenced series for the 30th anniversary
has died and been replaced with talk of a beetle theme and another legion of
endless extra-senshi. Returning to the styles and themes of the original series
would hurt no one, save for the toymakers and the hardcore otakus, and, in all
honesty I can't see that being too much of a shame.
One day there will be
a series the reproduces the formula of Goranger with just as much success
and originality as that first episode but I'm willing to bet that, when that
opening episode of that new series hits the airwaves it won't carry a Toei logo
at the beginning of its credits. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
10/1/2005 - Shonen Yo / Kagayaki |
Suffering from another bout of wayward and misguided creativity I decided to try playing around with footage from Final Fantasy VII, specifically the ending (you can take that as a very distinct SPOILER WARNING if you haven't completed the game yet. The two, short files use both of the original themes of the Hibiki series; the opening (Kagayaki ~Kazuyukimaki~ by Sahashi Toshihiko) and the ending (Shonen Yo by Fuse Akira). The combined total is about 19.9MB and can be found here should you find yourself, like me, with too much time on your hands.
|
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/30/2005 - Reuters, The Eye, the Pang Brothers |
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/30092005/325/zellweger-eye-japanese-thriller-remake.html
Zellweger
has 'Eye' on Japanese thriller remake is a stupid title, to say the
least. The fact that, despite the misinformation of the headline, the article
goes on to mention that The Eye was a 'Hong Kong thriller' makes
it even more insulting. The absence of information regarding the original film's
directors, the Pang Brothers (both Thai) just piles on more insult. One day
people will learn to cite the material they're referencing correctly.
As
for the report that Nakata Hideo will be responsible for the remake, I can't
help but feel saddened that we're going to be treated to yet another American
remake of an Asian horror film at the hands of a Japanese
director.
*sigh*
|
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/24/2005 - Kamen Rider Stronger: 7 Rider Tamashi ~*SPOILERS*~ |
There is little in Kamen Rider
Stronger: 7 Rider Tamashi to win the hearts and minds of its target
audience. Being 40-odd minutes of clips and monologue with a vaudeville Rider
team-up at its conclusion, it's easy to see exactly why Stronger isn't one of
the better remembered Riders, in fact, why he's little more than a footnote in
English language tokusatsu fandom. I'll be honest; after V3, many of the
Rider series (with the exception of the lovable Amazon-kun) seem to blur
into one. This is especially true of such series as Skyrider which, from
the little I've seen of it, comes across as nothing more than a rehash of the
original series. Perhaps X-Rider is an exception as the concluding scenes of his
sequence provided some amusement with the sight of X-Rider, poor bastard,
continually driving his motorbike up and into the face of a giant horned
monster. Sadly it was also noticeable that dear X-Rider's costume was little
more than a modified Goranger costume with a new helmet. Either way, having not
actually seen an episode of the series I can't really say for sure.
The
gathering of Riders at the end of Tamashi and their last minute
intervention in a Kamen Rider live-show gone awry is little more than a
series of motions dragging us from A to B. For a special with the word
'tamashi' in the title there is precious little of this sentiment on
display in the making of the programme. It's still infinitely preferable to the
brief and tiresome Kamen Rider World, which, in itself, is little more
than a scaled down version of the equally dire and comparatively vacuous
Super Sentai World.
What little we actually see of Stronger
himself leaves a curious impression. The character comes across as very blunt
and arrogant, which is understandable seeing as he seemed to have voluntarily
undergone the kaizo ningen process rather than having it forced upon him
(along with the doubts and insecurities that must accompany such an ordeal).
It's interesting to note that Stronger, whilst the most unconventional looking
of the original seven Riders is also the most conventionally Western in terms of
the thematic premises that underline his story. From the gaudy armour of his
alter-ego to the emblazoned 'S' upon his chest, it's hard not to think of DC's
stable of heroes. The presence of a younger, female sidekick dressed in bright
yellows and reds also adds weight to the claim that Stronger is a superhero.
Whilst the Riders before him, specifically Ichigo and Nigo could be classed in
the same vigilante bracket as characters like Batman, Stronger is the Superman
of the Rider mythos. The haunting clip of Stronger holding the dead body of
Tackle close to him in a pose remarkably similar to the cover of DC's Crisis
on Infinite Earths #7 (found prior to the Rider-tachi's final sally-forth at
the end of the special) is as serious a confirmation of this theory as any, at
least in my humble opinion.
 
Allow
me a dalliance for the briefest of moments. If I were given the opportunity to
rebuild some of the Toei tokusatsu franchises in a shared universe/fanfiction
environment then it'd be Matt
Pierce of Artifice Comics that
I'd ask to take the title of Kamen Rider Stronger on simply for the fact
that I'm curious as to how he'd deal with the Superman motifs of the series and
the fact that he's never worked on a Superman mythos title for any fanfiction
site that I know of makes it seem kind of perversely amusing to ask him to deal
with those themes for the first time in a book featuring a Japanese character
several times removed from its inspiration.
Perhaps I should write an
article marrying fanfiction/former fanfiction authors with Toei
properties that they've never heard of nor really care for. ^_^
The time
is, in my mind, just right for a re-imagining of characters like Stronger. Not
in the melodramatic, Inoue helmed The First fashion, but in a serious,
modern and interesting way. The OVA anime special, Kikaida vs. Inazuman
did a lot to inspire me. I've never seen episodes of either tokusatsu series or
really encountered either of the main characters beyond a familiarity with
pictures of them but watching the anime brought those concepts to light in a
manner that seemed imaginative and respectful. From the Ishinomori character
designs to the actual level of animation, this short OVA brought to mind
everything from DevilMan to Giant Robo and breathed life into
these aged characters. To see this happen to older entries in the Kamen
Rider franchise would be a joy...and possibly the only tarry I would
consider having with the franchise after the debacle of active interference with
the format and progression of Hibiki.
It's not enough to settle
for the lacklustre of the new generation. Sometimes you have to start doing
things for yourself.
|
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/16/2005 - Takadera Shigeki and Ooishi Shinji |
References: http://www.japanhero.com//forums/index.php?showtopic=3785&st=0&p=40533&
http://thegkatimes.blogspot.com
I
don't really know what to say. I'm not sure I believe the site
reporting this information or the poster who supplied the link but if
it is true and both the main writer and producer for Hibiki have been removed in favour of someone responsible for the dire boredom of Kamen Rider Faizu then I shall refuse to have anything to do with any and all future incarnations of the Kamen Rider franchise, including the forthcoming Kamen Rider The First. In fact I'll quite happily turn my back on the sentai franchise if the shows continue in the same vein as Magiranger. I can't express yet in words how angry I am about this possibility that this might be true.
I'll write more about this matter later, perhaps... |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/14/2005 - Kingdom Flashback |
| I have, perhaps, a little too much time on my hands. Watching automated_alice complete Kingdom Hearts recently (almost a year after my own heartbreaking experience playing the game) and, even now, watching her play through Chain of Memories 'inspired' (although that's probably too grand a word) me to tarry a little while with footage from not only Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories but also the trailers for the forthcoming Kingdom Hearts II and overlay the Rin' only version of the song Flashback from the recently released Kamen Rider Hibiki to 7nin no Senki
film. Please don't expect anything like technical greatness but if
you're in any way interested in my brief attempt at music video making
the actual file is 6.89MB, zipped and uploaded to the perennially
helpful yousendit.com. Needless to say there are massive spoilers for all things Kingdom Hearts
related so please don't watch it if you even the slightest inkling that
it will ruin your expectations of the forthcoming sequel or spoil any
future progress you might make in your own game saves. I mean it. I'll
have trouble sleeping if you do. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/12/2005 - Spandex Fetishism |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spandex_fetishism
Spandex fetishism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Spandex fetishism is a fetishistic attraction to people wearing shiny stretch fabrics or, in certain cases, to the garments themselves.
Many people refer to spandex fetishism as Lycra fetishism, although Lycra is INVISTA's trademark for their own brand of spandex fabric.
One reason why spandex and other tight fabrics may be fetishised is that the garment forms a "second skin,"
acting as a fetishistic surrogate for the wearer's own skin. Wearers of
skin-tight spandex garments can appear naked or coated in a shiny
substance like paint. The tightness of the garments may also be seen as
sexual bondage.
Spandex is often produced in bright colours.
Spandex fetishism often involves dressing up in the material, or
looking at it worn by sexual partners, or fantasies about wearers of skin-tight spandex garments such as athletes, acrobats, gymnasts, dancers, swimmers and contortionists.
In comic books, superheroes, superheroines, and supervillains
are generally depicted as wearing costumes made of spandex or a similar
material. Fantasies involving superheroes or the wearing of superhero
costumes are commonly associated with spandex fetishism. This type of
fetishism is usually restricted to men. In superheroine-fetishistic
pornography, the superheroines, who are either dressed up as either canonical characters or characters invented solely for the fetish, are typically in some sort of trouble, such as bound
or fighting supervillains (who are usually also female). The
superheroines always wear skintight, very flashy and bright-coloured
costumes that usually cover only just enough of the female body to be
presentable.
Full-body suits called zentai entirely immerse the wearer in skin tight fabric. The suits are essentially catsuits with gloves, feet, and a hood. The wearer gets to experience total enclosure and those who enjoy erotic objectification might make use of the garment's anonymizing aspect. Zentai fetishism appears to be quite popular in Japan and Europe.
Kigurumi, a form of Japanese costuming, often makes use of lyrca as artificial skin. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
9/11/2005 - Fears and Flames |
Title: Fears and Flames
Author: automated_alice
Genre: Angst
Sentai: Mahou Sentai Magiranger
Pairing: Kai (Magi Red) x Makito (Magi Green), Kind of...
Rating: Not sure, it has a kiss...
Disclaimer: Toei owns all the rights to all Super Sentai characters
( Fears and Flames )
|
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
8/29/2005 - "What I Did and You Didn't..." |
Cast/Crew of note: Eun-Kyung Shin (Uzumaki), Jin-Young Jeong (Bichunmoo), Du-Nae Bae (Take Care of my Cat)
There's not a huge amount of difference between Ring Virus and other Korean horror films such as The Dollmaster.
Many of the best examples of the genre seem so matter-of-fact that it's
hard to feel any real kind of dread as you watch the events unfold on
screen. That isn't to say that Ring Virus is a bad film
per se, certainly if you've never heard the story told in any other way
then it's an exceptional film, the camera work, sound design and score
all serving to create a very rich environment...except for the fact
that the central character of Sun-ju (that's Asakawa to you and me,
played by Eun-Kyung Shin who appeared in Uzumaki as Marayama
Chie as well as a host of Korean comedies and dramas). Despite the
obvious conscious decision to emulate Nakata Hideo's 'original'
Japanese film by casting Asakawa as a woman, a surprising amount of Ring Virus stays true to Suzuki Koji's novel. This is most evident in the material's presentation of the Eun-suh (Sadako-tan!). Virus
owes one other sequence to Nakata's film which I won't spoil but
aside from that if you've read the book then it's difficult to feel any
real sort of dread or expectation and you're simply left for events to
plod along towards their natural conclusion. I'm really not sure if,
after having read the snowbloodapple
review there's an awful lot i feel i can add. Sometimes the
determination to present the issues of the story in such a slow paced
manner really works for this genre, A Tale of Two Sisters, whilst
not strictly a horror film, is a damn good example of how methodical
presentation and evaluation of the facts as they unfold can work in a
film's favour. Yet when these methods are applied to films like Dollmaster and Ring Virus
it often makes them seem slow and laborious. Despite it's best efforts
the film, like the original novel, comes across more like a
supernatural 'whodunit' rather than an actual horror film. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
8/18/2005 - Hotman Episode #10 |
Matsushima Nanako (GTF!) made a guest appearance in this
episode. It's always good to see Matsushima and Sorimachi, who are in
fact married in real life, acting together on screen. Despite the fact
that the live action adaptation of GTO left a lot to be
desired, the chemistry between its two principle cast members was
always enjoyable, which is exactly why her unexpected cameo in Hotman
was so good to see. Episode #10 also provides more 'evidence' of the
budding romance (in my mind, at least!) between the characters of
Furiya Shima and Kaneko Misuzu. I am now also convinced that Shima's
younger sister, Hinata is competing for the love of Satsuki. Speaking
of whom, I only just realised she's played by Sawajiri Erika!!
Sometimes I really wonder exactly who the target audience for this drama is!
Actually, because of the way the characters have developed I'm really hesitant about watching Hotman 2
now, despite the fact that it stars both Ito Misaki and Abe Asami. I
really like the way the characters relate in the first series and I
can't help but feel that things will be very different in the next
season. Of course that doesn't mean I'm going to start writing Hotman girlslash just to preserve that ideal...at least, I don't think it does.
For more information on Hotman please visit the official site.
And
remind me one day to get round to writing updates for all the other
films and episodes and songs I need to, not least of all Space Travellers. |
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
8/13/2005 - OTP Meme |
There's been a meme
going around asking people to list their 20 favourite OTPs. I find that
slightly odd as I was always under the impression that OTP stood for 'one true pairing', as in one and one alone,
no more, no less. Either way I thought it'd be an interesting diversion
to fill the meme out based completely around tokusatsu pairings. I
wouldn't say these are my favourite couples, in fact beyond number two
I'm pretty lukewarm about them but I do think that each of these
situations would make an interesting premise for a story or character
piece, thus, without further ado...
(girlslash)
1.) Nono Nanami (Hurricane Blue) x Furabijou (Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger) (OTP! OTP!)
2.) Nono Nanami (Hurricane Blue) x Taiga Sae (GaoWhite) (Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger vs. HyakuJuu Sentai Gaoranger)
3.) Mochida Hitomi x Amami Akira (Kamen Rider Hibiki)
4.) Jannu x Rijeru (Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger)
5.) Sonoda Mari x Osada Yuka (Kamen Rider Faizu)
6.) SMART LADY x Osada Yuka (Kamen Rider Faizu)
7.) Yuuri (TimePink) x Tatsumi Matsuri (GoPink) (Mirai Sentai Timeranger vs. KyuuKyuu Sentai Go Go V)
8.) Sonoda Mari x Mina (Kamen Rider Faizu: Paradise Lost)
9.) Mizuno Ami (Dark Mercury) x Tsukino Usagi (Sailor Moon) (Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon)
10.) Nai x Mea x Ozu Houka (MagiPink) (Mahou Sentai Magiranger)
(het/boylove)
11.) Samezu Kai (GaoBlue) x Ushigome Soutarou (GaoBlack) (HyakuJuu Sentai Gaoranger)
12.) Hinata Oboro x Kagura Asuka (Shurikenger) (Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger)
13.) Nakadai Mikoto (AbareKiller) x Rije (Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger)
14.) Amami Akira x Izumi Iori (Ibuki) (Kamen Rider Hibiki)
15.) Date Kenta (MegaRed) x Ryouma (GingaRed) (Seiju Sentai Gingaman vs. Denji Sentai Megaranger)
16.) Washio Gaku (GaoYellow) x Amamiya Yuusuke (RedFalcon) (HyakuJuu Sentai Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai)
17.) Shishi Kakero (GaoRed x Tsukumaro Oogami (GaoSilver) (HyakuJuu Sentai Gaoranger)
18.) Kasumi Ikkou (KabutoRaijer) x Kasumi Isshu (KuwagataRaijer) x Asuka (AbareBlack) (Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger vs. Ninpuu Sentai Hurricanger)
19.) Nakadai Mikoto (AbareKiller) x Kodou Koume (DekaPink) (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger vs. Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger)
20.) Amamiya Yuusuke (RedFalcon) x Ohara Jou (LandLion) (Choju Sentai Liveman)
|
| ?E0 Comments ?EPost A Comment! ?Elt;/IfCommentsAllowed> Permanent Link |
|
About Me
[tokusatsu & sentai rah]
Friends
?EDreamless
?ECosmoranger
?ERyuujin
?EMasetaPeseta
|
