splinter_end

According to an article linked on Wikipedia, the art of Tim Burton will be shown at the NY MoMA !

I WANNA GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Edit @ 2:47pm: I meant NY, not NH (Thanks Mairin for the catch. Is there even a MoMA in NH?)

Weekend music acquisitions:


ミチコとハッチン (Michiko and Hatchin): Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 (*can't find a link for more info on the second CD of the soundrack collection...)

• For those who are familiar with Cowboy Bebop, the director, Shinichirō Watanabe, is the music producer of this series. I haven't listened to the whole albums yet but from what I remember, the series employs a lot of brazillian hip-hop and ambient-like touches. All songs (except one) are performed by the Kassin.

Firefly Soundtrack

• For the short-lived cult "Firefly", composer Greg Edmonson hit a lot of notes with his mixture of folk, western, and Chinese-influenced tracks. This acquisition was inspired by NhaKhanh when she linked this video on Facebook, called "Kangding Qingge (live)" and performed by Abigail Washburn and the Sparrow Quartet.

Speaking of which The Sparrow Quartet is definitely next on my list of music expansion.

Dreaming of Revenge by Kaki King

• My friend Kat linked me to Kaki King over facebook this past summer, and I remember how enthralled I was when I saw her performance on David Letterman. I downloaded her album "Dreaming of Revenge" just now and have only listened to "Bone Chaos at the Castle," but the album seems extremely promising based off this song. I highly recommend searching "Kaki King" on YouTube and watching her live performances - you will truly be amazed at how amazingly gifted she is.

Trivia: She is the only woman to be named "Guitar God" by Rolling Stone magazine.

I just finished To Kill a Mockingbird!

:D!

I saw "Inglourious Basterds" again at SUPERB in Wheeler. Here are some thoughts on the second viewing:

Pros:

• Fantastic writing. Some of the best dialogue I've seen, and the generated suspense is almost unbearable yet keeps you concentrated on the screen, waiting and waiting until it all unfolds.
• Amazing acting cast. The actress for Shoshanna is a real stand out, the actor for Hans is a damningly good psychopath, and though he only had screen time for the first fifth of the movie the actor for the French dairy farmer is amazingly stoic, strong, and emotional.
• If Tarantino doesn't get a nod for "Best Directing" then at least we all know he's up there in the ranks.
• Tarantino editing team, once again you strike with style and substance, added with generous amounts of comic timing.

Cons:

• Cinema and script wise, none at the moment.
• For history purist out there: this may not be your cup of tea.

Verdict:

An incredibly dramatic and moving film and story by Quentin Tarantino – all in the realm of "WWII" (I find the quotations around WWII appropriate for this particular movie). I wouldn't be surprised if it were a high contender for "Best Original Screenplay" at this year's Oscars.

So as I'm setting up "Queus and Views" into a full-blown movie review blog, I'm still planning on posting movie reviews on LJ first before publishing it on wordpress.

That said, would anyone be willing to read my articles for editing and feedback purposes? I really value comments and critiques, and especially now when I'm still starting out on amateur film criticism. It could be anything from "you misspelled ____" to "this phrasing ____ is odd – consider rewrite?" – it doesn't have to be extensive, I'll be happy with any reader response.

• Just got "Google Wave" courtesy of Azzy. I have 8 invites left so if there's anyone interested let me know!

• Instead of being productive and studying I wasted spent the last, oh, say 5 hours nitpicking at the layout details of my newly launched (but unpublicized) movie review blog "Queues and Views." I'm still working on the whole design as a whole, plus I haven't pinned down a definite schedule as to how often I'll be writing and posting articles. All of the movie reviews are pretty much the same as the ones I've posted on LJ (save a few minor edits here and there), and any feedback on how I could improve the site is greatly appreciated, thanks!

I watched "Lars and the Real Girl" last night with my mom. Some thoughts:

Pros:

• Top-notch acting from the ensemble cast, especially Ryan Goslin and Emily Mortimer
• Quirky and original
• Lovely directing and cinematography

Cons:

• Editing, perhaps; there were a few slow-paced moments in the movie.

Overall:

• Plot premise that could've gone wrong in so many ways and, thankfully, the writer and director were skillful enough to avoid any pitfall and produced a whimsically sad and touching film. Favorably recommended.

Thank you Ebert, for linking me to The Reader's Guide to Twilight and David Thorne email email correspondence. You have truly made my day.

Oh, and I'm home! Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out thar !

After listening to "Run Llama Run" by John Debney from "The Emperor's New Groove" soundtrack (2000), I've become interested in some swing music.

This isn't a random music spur of the moment though – the subtly swing-like jazzy beat of the 1992 "Aladdin" soundtrack by Alan Menken and Tim Rice has always hit a catchy note with me.

So if anyone out there has some swing music or suggestions, please let me know!

"Run Llama Run"


"One Jump Ahead"


"Friend Like Me"


(Looking at these videos, I remembered how incredibly boring Aladdin is. It's all about the Genie よ!)

Terminator Salvation (2009)

Pros:

- good action direction with well-executed action sequences
- nice cinematography
- Props to Sam Worthington in acting category


Cons:

- slightly ambiguous plot, though my confusion was alleviated with the help of a terminator fan who watched with me
- little/no character development
- un-engaging story that leaves little to zero food for afterthought

Verdict:

- overall a unimpressive but non-mediocre film. Terminator fans will perhaps rejoice; the rest of us will watch for a bit and hang on to the end just for the CBale screaming and punching.

FRIDAY:

- Saw "The Swell Season" at the Paramount Theater in Oakland! Excellent concert, much thanks to Mom, Viet and Nam for the heads up! Bought a T-shirt and poster (also took a free poster but they didn't really say anything about that...) Am now inspired to keep playing music!

- Did not see Demetri Martin but it worked out for the best.

SATURDAY:

- Went to and saw a Star Trek exhibit at the Tech museum in San Jose. Very interesting, got to know a little more about the Star Trek mythos and development.

- Watched the rest of "Terminator: Salvation." Compared to "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," this movie does a lot of things right – though a lot of screaming and heavy metal boom-boom added.

SUNDAY:

TIRED AS A KID EXPERIENCING FOOD/SUGAR COMA FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Edit: Oh yeah, and how about those protesters this past Friday on campus eh? That was fun, being forced out of class due to fire alarms being pulled because some protesters thought people going to lectures and taking midterms weren't supporting their cause, and not to mention said protesters blocking students from getting to where they needed to.

Dissection of a film scene from Fantastic Mr. Fox plus commentary by Wes Anderson.

Additionally, here's an incredibly moving and disturbing short story written and drawn by mangaka artist Fujiko F. Fujio who, along with Fujiko Fujio (A) collaborated to create classic manga like Doraemon (all this info is regurgitated from space_coyote, an amazing artist who I greatly admire). It's called "Minotaurus's Plate" and believe me, you will consider vegetarianism/veganism shortly after reading it.

I got a plus account yesterday, and much thanks to Adblock and NoScript I do not need to see obnoxious ads on my LJ page! This means I can have a total of 15 userpics AND not see advertisements, yay!

11/6: District 9

• One of the best film premises I've seen in a long time.
• Ending washes down into gregarious amounts of action – blood, gore, guns, lasers, the whole lot
• If a possible sequel is in the works, it will be one hell of a writing process to match up to "District 9"'s hype

11/7 - 11/8: G.I. Joe

• Horrendously silly and fun.
• Fell asleep towards the end because I was exhausted, but from what I recall there were a lot of explosions.
• Something about something about something that led to a lot of booms! plus chicks in leather.
• Recommended for "so bad it's a damn good B-movie with insane amount of funding" movie night

11/13 - 11/14: Transformers - Rise of the Fallen

• The plot is something similar to a story I concocted in kindergarten after watching too many episodes of Power Rangers (but even then I think my story was less preposterous).
• Whoever said Hollywood was liberal and progressive, I present to you gangsta-talking robot twins.
• Humping dogs and robots? Really?
• You'd figure that most directors mature with time and experience. Thank you Michael Bay, for not following suit.
• Summation of the movie:



And for those who are curious, here are the first 30 seconds of the next Transformers movie:


(Now excuse me as I go and salvage my film soul somewhere)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS ALICE!

You are now OFFICIALLY an old fart in my book! But don't worry I'll be following you shortly 8D

The screenwriter of "Little Miss Sunsine," Michael Arndt, also wrote the screenplay for Toy Story 3 ! The treatment is of course by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton but my goodness, this is certainly a surprise! The prospect of "Toy Story 3" suddenly that much more intriguing to me :O

I biked there and back! Photo album on Picasa :D

Read FMA chapter 101!

DAH!