I'll just sneak this in.Losing a writer and becoming the only one for an ad agency that is barely breathing, I have become the swamped thing. Though I may not have found the time to write or sketch a review of films that I have seen, it doesn't mean that I haven't seen a few good ones.
Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story is this year's guiltiest pleasure. It's not the best crafted romantic-comedy that I have seen---technically clumsy with an obvious lack of chemistry between the actors---but it is laugh-out-loud hilarious; tears spilled on the popcorn that was spilling.
I liked Bong Joon-ho's Mother better than Park Chan-Wook's Thirst, the former a gracefully-plotted drama with the one of the best opening and closing sequences that I have seen of all time. Thirst is PCW's most focused narrative work so far, but it lacks the emotional resonance of his earlier works, most prominently shown in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Will be posting more detailed reviews soon.
Side project! I've also been reviewing Asian albums for allmusicjunkies.com. Here's a rundown of the reviews I have written so far. (Excuse the editing and proofreading. The people behind the site are still improving it.)- August's Radiodrome
- Nologo's Gravity
- Super Junior's Sorry, Sorry
- Scrubb's Best Of
- SHINee's 2009, Year of Us
10 comments:
Hey, welcome back. Sorry to hear about how you're back because of work related difficulties though.
I think I might look into that Super Junior album. Minor quip about your review though- Taipei isn't a country.
Wisekwai has blogged a lot about "Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story" though I probably wouldn't have the opportunity to see it for at least half a year from now.
I've been catching up on a lot of movies too lately. Have you ever seen Feng Xiaogang's "If You Are the One"? I also didn't see "(500) Days of Summer" during its theater run, but I'm picking it up this week. It's supposed to be really good.
Ach. Thanks for pointing that out, Kevin. *facepalms*
I've been wanting to catch "If You are the One?" and Chuan Lu's "City of Life and Death" but haven't had the time to look them up in YesAsia. Will hopefully find good copies in HK next year.
"(500) Days of Summer" is...okay. Some of the musical references feel forced, but as a whole, it is a refreshing change of pace from the usual rom-coms. Killer line somewhere near the ending, too.
Was able to catch "Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story" last month in Bangkok. Unfortunately, it was the only Thai movie I saw because most of the theaters were showing New Moon.
Just happened to pass by..
Nice blog, by the way.
I've watched the entire Vengeance trilogy, so I'm quite curious about Thirst.
The trailer of Mother looks very promising. Heard it's S.Korea's Oscar entry. When are you posting a review for the film?
Ilang beses ko nang nakikita yung Mother sa mga bootleg stores, kaya lang palagi kong dinideadma. Now that you said it's good, I think I'll buy it next week. Happy holidays! :)
Ows, meron nang pirated? Tagal ko na rin di nakakapunta ng Quiapo, makavisit nga uli. hehe
@Wilfred: Hey, thanks for dropping by. Will post write and post it most probably after the holidays. Saw Thirst 2x already. Not as wildly stylish as Old Boy or Lady Vengeance but is still good. This one I got through amazon, naka-sale! :D
@Andy: Mother was a gift and I liked it more than Thirst as a film. I've seen all of Bong Joon-ho's films (Barking Dogs Never Bite, Memories of Murder, The Host) and still Mother blew me away. As in. Powerful stuff! Watch na!...And Merry Christmas! Hehe.
I went out of my way kanina to buy the disc, but as luck would have it, na-raid yung pagbibilhan ko. Marami yatang na-confiscate sa kanila; pagpunta ko wala na yung Mother. Damn it. :(
Thor!
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Mark Hodgson
Hey pal, how are you?? Its been a crazy mths for me...my work is hectic recently!!!
BTW, what "bangkok Traffice" is the one on the pic?
Looks nice, what's it about??
Hey, Aaron! I just quit my advertising job and am now managing our furniture store, Space Encounters. :D
I caught "Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story" is a movie commissioned by the Bangkok's BTS for their 10th anniversary. It's a romantic-comedy which mostly takes place in the BTS. Less romance, more of the comedy, and I liked it quite a lot! Hope a decent DVD of this comes out. With English subs. ^^
I hope you get to take a vacation soon again. We hard workers deserve our travels! LOL!
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