I can't wait to watch these

After School


If what we know of anyone's character is limited to what they want to reveal, how can we really know the truth about them? Three high school alumni and a shifty detective find themselves tangled in a web of deceit under the watchful eyes of the yakuza. Like planning for the perfect heist, this intriguing drama of love and affection will catch you completely off guard like a lurking pawn who just became Queen.

After three hard-working years, After School is the follow up to Kenji Uchida’s unheralded debut, A Stranger of Mine that won several prizes during the Critics’ Fortnight at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2005.

Director : Kenji Uchida

Producer : Makoto Fujimoto (exec), Satoshi Akagi, Hiroshi Ohnishi, Daisuke Ohoka

Screenplay : Kenji Uchida

Cast : Yo Oizumi, Masato Sakai, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Takako Tokiwa

Japanese w/English subtitles
2008 | 35mm | 102 Mins | Comedy/ Suspense/ Mystery

Sydney: Tue 2 Dec, 8:00pm



Ichi



On a journey to find her long-lost caretaker, Ichi travels alone. She is beautiful, gifted with a remarkable shamisen ability… and is blind. Many try to take advantage of her disability but beneath her frail exterior lies an iron-willed justice-seeking swordswoman. She trusts no one and fights with passion and absolute precision. Her voyage leads her to meet Toma, a samurai, and she finds herself caught in a web between two factions vying for power.

Director : Fumihiko Sori

Producers : Nobuyuki Toya (exec), Nobuhiro Azuma, Koji Yoshida, Yasushi Umemura

Screenplay : Taeko Asano

Cast : Haruka Ayase, Takao Osawa, Shidou Nakamura, Yosuke Kubozuka

Japanese w/English subtitles
2008 | 35mm | 118 mins | Action/ Samurai/ Romance

Sydney: Wed 3 Dec, 9:15pm



Always, Sunset on Third Street 2



Following the box office sensation of Always, Sunset on Third Street, the residents of Third Street return in this uplifting story of hope. Tokyo Tower is now completed, and Japan is about to begin a decade-long boom. This period piece of life in post war times serves as a reminder that despite the many obstacles and adversaries we face, there is always a brighter future ahead. The Third Street residents will remind you of the essential elements of the simple life: love, joy, hope and plenty of laughter.

Director : Takashi Yamazaki

Producers : Shuji Abe (exec), Seiji Okuda (exec), Chikahiro Ando, Nozomu Takahashi, Keiichiro Moriya

Original Story : Ryohei Saigan

Screenplay : Takashi Yamazaki, Ryota Kosawa

Cast : Hidetaka Yoshioka, Shinichi Tsutsumi, Koyuki

Japanese w/English subtitles
2007 | 35mm | 146 mins | Drama/ Comedy

Sydney: Wed 3 Dec, 6:30pm



The quiet room



Asuka awakes to find herself in the isolated ward of a psychiatric hospital for women. The young magazine journalist has been in a coma for two days after an abusive night of alcohol and sedatives, and no recollection of what happened. In ‘the quiet room’, Asuka is forced to deal with her repressed past, amidst a quirky assortment of fellow patients.

Director : Suzuki Matsuo

Producers : Masao Toyoshima (exec), Naoki Kitagawa (exec), Shiniji Ogawa

Original Story : Suzuki Matsuo

Screenplay : Suzuki Matsuo

Cast : Yuki Uchida, Kankuro Kudo, Yu Aoi, Ryo

Japanese w/English subtitles
2007 | 35mm | 118 mins | Drama/ Comedy

Sydney: Fri 5 Dec, 8:55pm



Kabei - Our Mother



Set in the shadows of pre-WWII, the sudden arrest of Shigeru sends the Nogami family into distress. Kayo, along with her two daughters, is now left alone to carry the burden of making ends meet. Life is tough as fear, exhaustion and anxiety settles in, yet Kayo maintains her firm composure. Kabei - Our Mother is a compelling account of maternal love and survival, paying homage to mothers who have sacrificed their all for the sake of their family.

Director : Yoji Yamada

Producers : Hiroshi Fukazawa, Takashi Yajima

Original Story : Teruyo Nogami

Screenplay : Yoji Yamada, Emiko Hiramatsu

Cast : Sayuri Yoshinaga, Mitsugoro Bando, Tadanobu Asano

Japanese w/English subtitles
2007 | 35mm | 132 mins | Drama

Sydney: Sat 6 Dec, 1:30pm






*Information taken from Sydney Japanese Film Festival Website.

I'll probably be watching these alone. loner sial. Might miss Ichi. hmmm.

N

Photoshop benar

Ini dibikin oleh orang-orang genius.

Ini tak boleh blah. Orang-orang dari seberang yang serumpun dengan kita boleh buat camni. Kita pun mesti boleh kan? kan Malaysia boleh? Well, not exactly this lah, but something else and hopefully as creative. Tapi orang kita suka tiru. Dah tiba masa untuk melangkah ke depan. Ada sesetengah orang dah mula mara dah. Mereka ini harapan negara (Aku tak mau tulis harapan bangsa). Tapi tak lama lagi semua orang mesti ikut jejak langkah.



N

Wartawan Hiburan

This is from a draft a while back.

I thought I wanted to write about the Malaysian entertainment press today. This thought came to me as I was watching Butterfingers being interviewed on Melodi. While watching that, I can't help comparing the person interviewing them with the likes of David Letterman, Jay Leno or even Rove. What makes it so different is the way they ask the questions.

Letterman, etc. ask questions in good light of the interviewee. I mean that their questions are based on promoting the interviewee, be it an actor, musician etc. Their Malaysian counterpart however (the Melodi person), asks questions as if he was harassing the interviewee (Butterfingers in this case) instead. Every answer by Butter is countered with a different, punishing and blaming, question. It's like a debate, with the interviewer on the offensive and interviewee on defense. Just accept the answer given and move on to the next question.

Even worse, the whole interview is twisted and turned in the editing room to make the interviewee look bad. They probably have a sick mindset of thinking that this is a way of presenting a 'panas' news? No wonder Malaysian artists hate to be interviewed.

This sickness is not unique to Melodi vs. Butter. It is there nation-wide. Have a look for yourselves.



P.S: Sapa kat Malaysia tu belilah album original. Jangan jadi macam aku, dengar online. Nanti balik aku beli. Janji.

Greater Union George St

This is going to be huge! Who wants to go check out Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, it's happening this Thursday (edit: Tuesday) guys! I can't make it. Tensyen! Patutkah aku ponteng? Mesti kalau nampak pun, 2 saat je. Sapa yang free tu, pergi je lah!

N

darlington rd

I used to live here. Good times.

N

Tunggu

10.11pm

I am still waiting for that 'ticket'. I need a fresh start. I am stuck.. Even though my plans have changed. I always wonder if this was a good choice. It's still not too late. Passion or the rat race? I've got support behind me, choice doesn't scare me. I've made the choice.

I'm maybe all talk, no action. But then again, i need that 'ticket' to act.

Luck? Am I just plain unlucky? A few others have got it already! Some people with the exact same circumstances as me! It's not luck, it's just how it is.

Obama is planning his moves now. Even when Bush is still president in office. Obama says he wants to start on the ground running. In a way, Obama is in waiting too. He can't act. But when he does, people expect it to be one hell of a ride. That's probably not going to be the case with me. Maybe I'll start out crawling but soon it will change hopefully.

What the hell am I rambling about?!

This is what you get when you sit in one place for a long time. You talk to yourself, in the form of blogging. Pass the time.

10.23pm

Most blogs are as vague as this. What the hell is the 'ticket'? What 'choice'? 'Luck'? What?

I believe this jumpyness is because our minds are jumpy. We can't think of one thing too long. You have to really concentrate. Which I am NOT doing at the moment.

Mental note: I am out of pictures. I shall go out tomorrow and take some. It's been awhile.

Might as well turn OFF.

10.29pm

N

Kore wa ii nioi ga shimasu

"This smells good".

Have you ever been stuck in a small space with a foul smell? Today my friend is unlucky to experience that. Aoki-san, I totally understand how you feel. I had a similar experience.

I was on a flight to the Gold Coast, or was it Adelaide? I was probably flying back from Malaysia. I had the window seat. The guy next to me was sleeping soundly, wearing nightshades. Across from us was an elderly couple. And directly behind us was the toilet.

Don't beat me to the punchline!

Well, as you'd guess, the toilet was used...by the granny! I think she has short intestines or something because the foulest smell on the face of the earth came out! Ya Tuhan! I could tell she had some kind of vegetarian meal just before.

So there I was. Stuck! The stech was so bad that the person next to me actually woke up. I could tell he woke up because he was stirring restlessly. He continued pretending to sleep. The guy next to him was avoiding eye contact with the makcik. She was looking in our direction. Three people who suddenly became restless. The third guy started coughing. He was the closest to the toilet. pity him. NOT! He took a blanket, covered it over his nose and pretended to go to sleep as well.

I couldn't breathe. I didn't want to use my mouth because then the germs and bacteria of the smell would go IN my mouth! I do not want to taste it. I held my breath as long as I could before the occasional breathing through my shirt.

By then, both guys next to me were coughing like crazy. I contributed some coughs of my own in the chorus. The sleeping guy must think that either people next to him let out this demon of a smell. He must also be having nightmares.

Suddenly, the old lady got up. I thought she was offended with all the coughing."I'm old, this problem comes with old age! Wait until you lot get old and face the same treatment!" she said. Or at least, that's what I thought she was thinking or going to say. Instead, she moved aside to let her husband through. He passed her in the aisle and went into the toilet. He shut the door behind him.

I screamed in my head.

Get ready for round 2!

Yes miss Aoki, I really understand.

N

Floating in vacuum, Moksha and Gelombang Cinta

I have been lazy these few days. Last month was my busiest month ever, in terms of blogging. I've never written so much shit in my life. Maybe except the time when I was back in high school, writing my 'Agama' exam paper.

My back is killing me. This imac requires me to sit in an up right postion. Kalau laptop, boleh baring and malas-malas.

It is now 4.31am in the morning and I don't have any reason to be up. There's nothing that is interesting happening. 25 people are online in my MSN, 222 offline. I just chat with only about 5 people from the list, the other about 5-10 very rarely, and the rest, probably never. My facebook is practically in a standstill for some reason. Maybe its exam season and nobody's really doing anything, indirectly making me not have anything to do. I just feel like writing some empty crap on here that has no meaning whatsoever.

It is going to be hard for people to comment because apparently, this post has no real content. Some who feel like commenting would maybe come up with a 'hahaha', or 'Finally, first to comment!'*

I can't remember if I've plugged anything before on here. So, if you're feeling down whenever you're reading this, or maybe stuck at work, or have millions of assignments due and just need a break, or sitting alone at starbucks with your laptop and getting annoyed with the noisy surrounding, or...you get the idea, you can check out the following (if you haven't already):

1. Flight of the Conchords (saw this again after awhile):



2. Mr. Afeeeeeeef pointed out this funny little clip that I've so ignorantly missed out on. Meet Achmed:



Oh Butterfingers, thank you for 'Floating in Vacuum' and 'Moksha' and the likes. Brings back good old memories. Maybe this is what they mean by 'Kembali', reminding us that they're still there and to go back and listen to old records. It's a good soundtrack for middle-of-the-night inspirations.

Is anybody in the mood for love(not really):



*1. I don't see the point of being first in a comment box, is there an organisation that keeps track of first commentors and supply funky prizes like a trip around India on The Darjeeling Limited Express? 2. I don't think anyone reading my blog is racing to be first to comment.

N

Recollection of past (non)adventures

On my first day of school, I received RM5 from my dad. He told me to buy food during recess. I was pretty hungry that day and I needed to get food. Waiting for recess felt like the longest time, even though I had no idea what recess was. When it finally came, I went to the canteen to look for some FOOD. There were so many kids around pushing and shoving and screaming and laughing. We were supposed to queue up, but being kids, that did not happen.

For the longest time, I was standing at the very front, in front of the mak cik kantin, looking for something worth RM5. I couldn't find anything. Packets of tiny munchies and sweets for 50sen, 20sen, 10sen...and a super delicious mee goreng for RM1.

"Why?! Why is nothing RM5?! I'm so hungry!"

I didn't buy anything that day.

I went home and told my dad. He laughed at me, I didn't understand why.

The next day, he gave RM1 for my pocket money. Finally, I get to buy my mee goreng. Yay!

Note: I got RM1 until the end of form 3.

N

Daydreaming

Angan-angan Mat Jenin. I know there's a story about Mat Jenin who likes to daydream. I just can't think of what he was daydreaming about and what happened to him. I know it wasn't something good.

Nevertheless, I still like to daydream.

I like fictional real characters. This means the character is 'loosely' based on a real person. I don't write about myself much. Maybe its some kind of phobia but I'm scared of revealing my 'inner' self. But everything is fine in fiction.

My fictional character would be called Zuhal, like the planet. (This name is partly inspired by 'Matahari' credits to YMF Kish). Zuhal is going to be following 'the Hero's journey'. He will have at least three different points in his life.

He starts of comfortable in his own world, content with whatever it is that he does. He then gets confronted with an unavoidable 'dillema/problem'. This could either be from an outside source or from within. I prefer the latter just because I find it can open up huge possibilities but it comes with the risk of being cliche. Zuhal then continues to travel through the second 'phase' of his fictional life, facing the aforementioned 'problem' (whatever it may be). Finally, he learns from this experience and this changes him. He would bring this new knowledge back to his original world to affect it somehow.

As you can see, Zuhal is still just an empty vessel at this stage and that's okay. Hopefully, I'll be able to paint him more in the future. A second observation could also be that this is quite a linear experience. This is true but that could be spiced up a little.

The HOW part is a totally different story.

N