Pid Term Yai Hua Jai Wah Woon [Hormones]

I feel love.

Thai Movie

This is a movie that's a lot of fun, only, it's for the way (way, way) younger generation. I don't even know why I watched it considering how old I am. Regarldess, the movie gave me mcuh youthful vigor - made me remember how fun it was being adolescent.

Nothing really special about this movie, definitely not an award-winner but it's very entertaining in the right amount: no excesses. It may not even have a moral to it: it's just a sugar-coated truthful account of adolescent love(s).

Throughout the 2 hours, you'll feel good inside - and light. Even the soundtrack is hip. I think this is a movie our youth should watch.

Verdict: It's so fun, you'f forget it was made for kids. Full of bittersweet exihibition of youth (mopre of sweet, actually).

Info

Leeched from avistaz.org

Fansub by SiuSalukis and Kawaiwhitewolfette

Kamen Rider Kiva: King of Hell's Castle

I finally understand... Father, you are a man with a large heart.

Japanese Tokusatsu Film

Like a huge Kamen Rider fan, I've been impatiently waiting for the Kiva movie to hit the torrents. Kiva, in all fairness, was a decent series unlike Kabuto and Hibiki (IMHO). However, what I got was a disappointment. Ok, not so much, but yeah, it didn't quite hit the bar.

I think the problem with me is that I keep forgetting that a Kamen Rider movie will always be that: Kamen Rider still - loose plots, bad acting, and a whole lot of other antics meant for children. I guess I was just hoping for something more - which now seems to be misdirected.

Kamen Rider movies are usuallya confusion of sorts: most of the times it does not know if it should stay faihful to the series' story or not. I've actually seen most of these movies recreate another world for the convicted Kamen Rider to run around with. I guess we can't really blame them for such movies are released in an awkward time: right in the middle of the series.

Basically what happened here was that I raised my expectations too high. Maybe it'dbe long before another Kamen Rider The Next would come along.

Verdict: If you watched Kamen Rider Kiva, then by all means watch it. If not, stay away.

Info

Leeched from and Fansubs by #tvnihon

Kisaragi

There are no such things as coincidences. All things happen for a reason, just like the universe.

Japanese Film

I've had this movie for a long time already. I'm sure I leeched this either because of Oguri Shun or Koide Keisuke and I just hadn't found the time to sit down and watch it. And I don't regret having seen it.

It's rather a long time since I've seen a film that's any good and Kisaragi easily filled this void. I think what really gravitates me towards Kisaragi is it's theater-like feel. The entrance and exit of characters, the exposition, the intended contrast of characters, the set, the plot's coming in full circle in the end, the mannerisms, the stationary set - everything reeks of theater. This kind of script would easily fit in a theater-in-the-round stage. Oh but I heard it was an adapted novel? Hmm...

It''s easy to say that it was whodunnit formula, but somehow, it feels so much more. I give my applause to the solid narrative: the twist and turns were all in cue.

I'd say this is a film that's in between serious and just plain absurd. The shots were not handled amatuerly: I'm sure the hands behind them were expert. Was it comedy? I guess so...

Verdict: Fun to watch. It feels a little Oscar Wilde-ish. If you're a flick afficionado, this is a good find.

Info

Leeched from avistaz.org

Fansub by 8thSin

Boy Meets Boy

Be careful when you hook up on the street. It's full of danger and thrill.

Korean Short Film

I've been eagerly waiting for this short film to hit the net since last year because I have high hopes that it would be good. And indeed, it did come short of my expectations.

It was short, sweet, a bit humorous, so gay, and very relevant. The director's cut was a little more than 16 minutes and not a minute of that wasted.

Don't bother trying to look for english subtitles - you won't need them. Director Kim Jho Kwang-Soo deflected from the usual usage of dialogue and focused on keeping the film short and simple but fabulously embelished. I'm now a big fan of Director Kim.

And it helped a lot that the younger boy was portrayed by uljjang Kim Hye Song whom I've seen last in the suger-coated movie Jenny and Juno (not a queer film). As a matter of fact, someone who has watched that film can immediately recognize Juno on Hye Song's character - cute, innocent, and just pure adorable.

What really makes this film a winner for me is that it so relevant to the 2K fag. Heck, it feels like a warcry of the queer movement. I myself was easily able to relate to the two boys. A hundred applause belongs to Boy Meets Boy.

Verdict: Must see! I mean it. It will only take around 15 minutes of your time and I swear it won't be waste.

Info

Leeched through torrents from avistaz.org

Postscript:

Since this was not the work of a fansub group I'm sure you'd notice the obligatory "support fansubs" banner is missing. Instead, here's a plain screencap. Oh, watch it through streaming sites by all means. In fact, here's one from Veoh though that's not the director's cut.

WATCH

(Veoh doesn't allow embedding anymore. I wonder why?)

Mushishi

I'm Ginko, a Mushishi.

Japanese Anime

I first chanced upon Mushishi at the bookstore when I was in my manga rave phase. Glad that's over cause that burned my wallet so bad. Anyhow, the volume did looked promising. An award seal was even there.

And with some good reviews I got from other otakus, I eventually leeched the whole series. As of the moment, I'm just at the second episode and my, what do I say? It's one of those animes you shouldn't miss.

"Steady lang" would be an appropriate description for the Mushishi experience. There are no acrtion-packed sequences, over the top drama, or even fanservice. The country atmosphere also adds to the relaxed mood.

Mushishi is one clean, pristine anime. It has high-end animation, incredible musical score and has themes that dig deep into the problem of human existence and of existence in itself.

One word of note though: it can be misjudged for being plain boring - but for a good reason. But if you're into high-end anime, this is for you.

Verdict: If you graduated with a Humanities degree, this anime is for you. If you appreciate zen, buddhism, or eastern existential philosphy, then maybe, this is for you.

Info

Leeched from: piratebay.org

Fansubs by nizzk

Hachi-One Diver

Dive!

Japanese TV drama

Admittedly, I only followed this drama because of the lead. I was smitten by him acting all goofy and stupid. But hey, jdoramas are also viable media for fangirling right? Unlike Yamapi though, it was the first time I encountered Mizobata Junpei and checking on his wiki entry leads me to conclude that he’s relatively a new artist. He’s already earned a fan right here. Hehehe.

Hachi-One Diver is like an anime plucked from paper with real people acting the 2D characters. The title of the drama (which incidenatally is the a.k.a. of the lead) comes literally means 81 Diver. The name comes from the 81 squares of the Shogi gameboard and “Diver” comes from his game move. He, (figuratively and quite literally) dives in to Shogi and becomes one badass player. Shogi is like the Chess we know, only harder.

The plot is not that deep and well-thought out though it tries hard too. But this doesn’t mean that it wasn’t engaging. Nay, I was practically watching episodes one after the other because I was left hanging every time. If you know the anime Hikaru No Go, it is something similar to that. Interestingly, the elements of a tournament based anime has been successfully transposed into live-action format, complete with the amazing visual effects and exaggerated fits of passion to their game.

This drama is fascinating because it closely follows the genre of other highly successful anime series and the only difference is that there are real people here. Think Cooking Master Boy, think Prince of Tennis, think Slam Dunk, think Bey Blade. But this time, you can fangirl over a real boy. Get the drift?

Being a semi-otaku drama, moe moments were inevitable. Soyo’s Maid Version was intended. Moe moments: peek-a-boo of Mikuru’s cleavage, Sugata being smothered by Mukuru’s breasts, and everything Mikuru. If all countries had a Mikuru there would be no wars.

Of course, there were a lot times when I had to roll my eyes. Some embellishments were already over the top but hey, this is exactly the genre’s style.

I just found out that this is a midnight drama and not all midnight dramas are brilliant. But this one takes the cake, although a semi-sweet cake.

Verdict: If you want a taste of moe, go ahead and watch this. If you liked the animes I mentioned above then by all means watch this. But if you’re already tired of your childhood and hates nonsensical things, stay away from this drama.

Info
Leeched from: d-addicts
fansubs by SBK

The Battery (Movie)

"Takumi's baseball is the sign of loneliness. Such baseball is nothing but pain."

Japanese Movie

battery (n): the pitcher and catcher of a baseball team [m-w.com]

Because of the different dramas I’ve seen, I've grown an affinity to Japanese baseball. So when I learned about this movie, I immediately grabbed a copy (err, okay, leeched). This is also one of those that have been able to cross over to a drama which led me to conclude that maybe, this was indeed good. Other examples of those movie-to-drama titles are Ichi Ritrou Namida, Sekai Chuusin de Ai Wo Sekabu, and Taiyo no Uta (these links are of the dramas). To say, the drama versions were not necessarily better than the movie and vice versa; they have their own faults. And, they were not necessarily “good” for them to be able to reach out to television – it’s just that they were only popular.

Anyway, back to baseball. Yep, baseball’s a frustration and I haven’t lost hope that I’ll be able to play ball at this age. I keep imagining how adrenaline stimulating it could be there, out on the field. Two outs, bases loaded, a chance for a grandslam… Naaahh.

The movie has nothing really special to boast about: it was another run of the mill films, nothing spectacular or flashy or anything. But it was still something worth to sit the next 120 minutes to. The Battery is a movie that leaves you a smile on your way out of the theater. In short, it is a feel good movie that tackles some really tender human issues like the longing of your mother’s recognition, passion for the game, sports camaraderie, and friendship.

I found it easy to identify with the characters though the lead was a bit too stiff. I also give my applause to Gou-chan because I felt that his acting was amazing. He was able to provide a believable contrast to his partner Takumi. Seiha, Takumi’s little brother, provided most of the kawaii moments much to my liking. Oh how I wanted to pinch those plump cheeks.

The Battery’s foremost strength is in presenting human emotions as truthful as possible through the lens and narrative devices of the film. And it is that that makes it emphatic enough.
For the numerous baseball themed media I’ve seen, I’ve never come across one that focuses on the “battery,” or the pitcher and catcher’s partnership like this one. And for this, the film has contributed to the corpus of baseball themed narratives.

Another interesting point though. I think scholars of sexuality may have a field day in this movie. Takumi and Gou-chan’s (pitcher-catcher) relationship is pregnant with interpretations that is worth probing into. While watching the movie, I felt that there was an intention to highlight their homo-social bonding. So much depends upon this male-male bonding and it was impossible not to notice this. There was even one scene that was BL-worthy: Gou-chan on top of Takumi.

I read that this was based on a novel and it was obvious so. There were a number of subplots that were, in fairness, resolved within the 2-hour time-span. And all these things are bound by one vision – that baseball is amazing: it ruins and fixes a lot of things, things that matter the most.

Verdict: Not so bad, not so good. It’s ok if you miss it but if you’re looking for time to feel good and laid back for 2 hours, this is the film for you. If you’re looking for a sports film about achieving something great like reaching Koushien or winning a championship, this is not the film for you. This is a film about genuine human emotions and experiences.

Info
Leeched from: avistaz.com
fansubs by 8thSin