Hardcore!

Just some random stuff I noticed while watching Sentai shows…

There was an episode of Shaider that was focused on Annie (no, she didn’t star in porn, as far as I know. She did, however, continue acting in Sentai well into the 90’s.) There was a part where she fought these evil minions and she was dressed up in Geisha attire and had Geisha makeup. To her credit, she looked like the real deal. This was in itself normal, despite the fact that millions of Filipino kids probably wouldn’t be able to get the cultural connection.

However, in the second half of the show she goes into this weird routine where she changes costumes every 15 seconds. She doesn’t fight per se; the routine seemed only to confuse the hell out of everyone there. It was pointless and utterly weird, and made me wonder what the hell the director was smoking. Did the Japanese kids who saw this in the early 80’s laugh at this? (they probably did.) Would the scene be appreciated by the generations of Filipino kids who watched this?

The episode dealt with kids getting evil by means of evil clothes. EVIL CLOTHES, ZOMG. No wonder that face thingy with the weird song and dance number lost. Why not make evil business suits for world leaders or something? That way he can rule the world. BUT NO. Instead, he makes these little detours and give the suits to freaking little kids, so that they may beat up the friendly veterinarian down the street. I’m surprised Shaider hasn’t kicked this guy’s ass already. Wait, he doesn’t have an ass. Scratch that.

In fairness to the episode, this was one of the few episodes where Babylos turns into a robot instead of a wimpy stupid gun. I hated that freaking gun thing. So that’s 130750 plus points for me.

Oh, and I guess the guy who played Shaider really did die. To all those people I told that Shaider may still be alive, he isn’t. Sorry.

Power Rangers is the subject of the next topic. I don’t know how many incarnations there are right now of the franchise. Sooner or later they’re going do silly ideas and make them Pirates and put them on a giant space ship that looks like a 16^th century galleon. Heck, they made them ninjas in one show, why the hell not. The rest of what I’m going to tell you is true. No lie. Well, maybe a little.

Anyway, there was this one show with one of the Power Rangers, still in civilian attire, escapes from this generic building. So all is fine and good when this Tyrannosaurus Rex comes in. Well it’s a carnivorous two-legged dinosaur anyway, if it isn’t a T-Rex. So naturally what would one do? We all watched Jurassic Park, right? Wouldn’t the first reaction be to either a) stare in silence and fear as the giant m*********** bites your torso off, or b) run like hell until the said dinosaur bites your torso off? Either way, torsos are going to fly.

BUT NO. Instead, the Power Ranger, without even transforming, ROUNDHOUSE KICKS THE DINOSAUR IN THE FACE.

HOLY SHIT.

The dinosaur flinches and the Power Ranger makes a getaway. But you don’t care about the rest of the show, you’re still stymied that some Joe had the balls to ROUNDHOUSE KICK AN FUCKING DINOSAUR IN THE FUCKING FACE. That’s just genius. Chuck Norris would be proud. Well, in fact, Chuck Norris once went back in time and roundhouse kicked a dinosaur so hard it reached escape velocity and fell into the sun. Along the way, the space borne dinosaur collided with an asteroid and changed its course so that it would strike the earth, killing all the other dinosaurs. That’s right; Chuck Norris caused the extinction of the dinosaurs.

…Hardcore.

C and J at the movies: Pamahiin

Last Thursday my friend C and I went to see a movie, not knowing that the choices were mainly a) things we had either seen before, b) didn’t want to see or c) a film by/with Steven Seagal. We were stumped. Eventually we went to watch something in the b category, a recent Filipino horror film called Pamahiin (in fairness to good ol’ Steve, we considered watching his movie… for about five seconds.) Instead of the usual review here are some of the things we said during the course of the film (more me than him, but anyway…) Was it a fun experience? Yes, it probably was. Was it a good film? We’ll let you decide. Some of the stuff was spoken in Tagalog and may not be verbatim. Remember, THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A HORROR MOVIE. A MOVIE THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE SCARY AS HELL.

(Five or so minutes into the movie)

J: Uy, puro pamahiin to ah… jinu-justify ata nila yung title eh. Kulang na lang me ladder sa tabi, tapos me black cat…

(A black cat darts into view)

J: …

* * *

(A character (Iya Villania, as Eileen) locks herself inside a room as someone chases her)

J: Why can’t (the pursuer) open the door? The keyhole is in (Iya’s character’s) side of the door (thus the lock has to be at the other side where the pursuer is)

C: Maybe it’s one of those locks where you push the middle of the doorknob to lock the door.

J: In the side with the Keyhole?

C: …

* * *

(A heart used for an evil ritual continues to beat)

J: I wonder how much that heart was in the market?

C: It looks clean nga eh.

J: (Evil character’s name) must have used a lot of Ringer’s solution…

* * *

(Iya’s character sees a ghost)

J: *imitates Iya Villania by opening his mouth really wide.*

C: …

J: Ginagaya ko lang, no… di kaya kinabag siya dito?

* * *

(Some jump scenes occur)

C: Some traumatic shit, paaare!

J: *laughing*

* * *

(a wall crawling scene occurs)

C: #&)!

J: Nice effects ah!

* * *

(A major SFX scene appears where the ghost is disappearing)

C: Hmmm…

J: YEAH! LENS FLARE!!!11

* * *

(A character, Mang Sebring, goes apeshit crazy after learning a piece of news)

J: Best actor, pare.

C: Ha?

* * *

(The same character is killed by a pane of glass)

C: Hirap naming paniwalaan yun. Ang layo niya dun sa gilid…

J: Oo nga… pahalang pa yung glass… unless he was chopped in two or something.

C: Dapat flat (reminded me of a scene in Final Destination 2…)

J: Oo, para madaganan ng mabuti…

* * *

(At seeing Paolo Contis character commit suicide)

J: Si Paolo Contis ba yun?

C: Oo.

J: Iba itsura niya… Must be the eyeliner.

* * *

(Words written in blood appear in front of the character)

J: Ang ganda ng font ah! Parang sulat babae.

C: Oo nga eh.

J: Yung a, diba, iba yung pagkasulat.

* * *

(Iya cries and acts terrified during a scene)

J: (indifferent to the scene) Shiny hair! Kintab ng buhok niya ha…

C: Akin yan, pare.

J: Ang cute, ang sarap hawa… este yakapin. Pero bakit yung hair niya palaging natatakpan ang mukha niya?

C: Yung hairstyle niya.

J: Hehe, tawagin natin ang hairstylist niya.

* * *

(Iya breathes heavily during a scene, simulating terror)

J *imitates*

C: Ano ba yang ginagawa mo?

J: Parang me tonic-clonic seizure (I was thinking more of kussmaul respiration later on, but this was the first thing that came to my head)

J: Nano-notice mo ba gumagalaw ang hair niya habang humihinga siya. Gaan ng hair nya, no? Anong shampoo kaya ang ginamit niya?

* * *

(blood drips down onto Iya’s face)

J: Chocolate!

* * *

(A scene transition occurs and Iya is shown talking to the phone explaining exactly why they are there and what they are doing)

J: How convenient! Exposition!

C: Para ma-explain…

J: Para sa masa siguro to no? Bait naman ng director.

(the same expository device is used later on in the movie)

* * *

(A scene occurs where the two characters lock themselves inside the house)

J: Cliché naman… teka, sungka ba yon?

C: Hindi ha. Ano yung ilaw na yon? (referring to a light outside the house)

J: May ilaw sila sa labas ng bahay. Aksaya naman sa kuryente ng mga to…

* * *

(A character leaves the car)

J: Sige, magpa-carnap ka…

C: Nasa loob na yata sila ng bahay eh.

J: (embarrassed) Ows?

* * *

(A character tells Dennis Trillo or whoever he is that Iya’s character is in the shower.)

J: Yesssss! SHOWER SCENE! SHOWER SCENE NA TOOOOHHHH!

C: … gago.

There. In my honest opinion this movie comes out as an awkwardly plotted, awkwardly paced, awkwardly edited, awkwardly acted B-movie grade film. The effects range from artificial-looking to good (at one point my friend couldn’t tell that a CG effect was in fact not real.) We don’t need continuous emphasis that this film is about Pamahiin (folk beliefs) in the first third only to abandon that and go into some weird ghost story that has something to do with witchcraft. Iya was cute, though, and whoever maintains her hair deserves praise.

But my friend seemed genuinely surprised by some of the jump scares. They don’t have the same power over me as they once had, seeing that I’ve seen the best of em. I guess there were a few good moments that could have scared me. Maybe. In a million years.

Otherwise, unless you’re willing to MST this movie to death, don’t see it.

The First Step

Boxing… it’s a strange thing. I find myself strangely attracted to this science, this art, that basically entails beating someone to a bloody pulp. There’s something about the glory, the rush it gives when you are giving all you have to someone else, one on one, in the field of battle.

What does it mean to be strong? This is the question that is the center of the anime series Hajime no Ippo, a.k.a. Fighting Spirit, a.k.a. Knock Out. It is a boxing anime to the core, and there aren’t that many (Ashita no Joe comes to mind, and that was a good one) But still I rank this show as one of my all time favorites.

Ippo Makunouchi starts the series as a timid highschooler who can’t help but get tormented with the local bullies. One day, after a particularly bad beating, Mamoru Takamura, a pro boxer, helps him out. Little do they both know that Ippo will begin the long and arduous road towards becoming a pro boxer himself. Soon the training begins, and the wise and experienced Coach Kamogawa sets Ippo up for his first matches. The road to becoming a Champion has begun.

My most favorite thing regarding this series was the fact that the fights were not seven-episode affairs that streeeeetched out a fight so long you don’t care about it anymore. Most of the fights take an episode or two – three tops. It improves the pace of the anime greatly and it makes it damn exciting, even when I’m watching matches I’ve already seen. In one case I already knew the outcome of one match, but when I saw Ippo go into his K.O. pattern, I got into it like a rabid dog. It’s that exciting.

The fast pulsing soundtrack helps as well as the voice acting. The opening and ending themes are quite good are quite catchy (who can forget ‘I want to feel lost mind?’) most notably the third ending theme, Saber Tiger’s “Eternal Loop,” which sounds like a 90’s rock band (And I geeeeeeeeeeeeeeet up, with my wounded baaaaahdeeey!) The characterization of most of the characters were spot on, and each person is given time to be fleshed out, even Ippo’s opponents. Ippo himself grows; as the series progresses, we see how he deals with the notion of how to become strong. The art style may put many off, but it’s understandable as the manga started out in 1989.

Sports anime have always piqued my interest, and Hajime no Ippo is one of the best, along with Slam Dunk. Give it a try and try not to get put off by the art style – it’s worth it.

The Blinding Passion

Some time ago, an anthropologist named Edvard Westermarck studied the phenomenon of people falling in love with people closely related to them. I guess there’s some credence in the old folks saying you will fall in love with a person who either looks like you or like someone related to you.

In one particular study, it was found that groups of children who were raised close together – in the close environment that siblings are raised, albeit without parents - grew up with little interest of members of the opposite sex. This type of reverse sexual imprinting – the Westermarck effect, it was called – was theorized to prevent closely related people, like siblings, from something called genetic sexual attraction, which would make them attracted to one another. (Remember when Luke Skywalker saw the holoimage of Princess Leia and said, ‘she’s beautiful!’? Something like that but more extreme.)

Whether you believe in that or the Freudian alternative, the anime series Koi Kaze (literally, ‘love wind’) is to me the example of a Westermarckian social experiment. Koshiro, a 27-year old man, is troubled by his listless life and the relationships he gets involved in aren’t ones that are fiery with desire – it almost seems like he isn’t attached to the people who forms relationships with him. His ex even asks him if he has ever truly fallen in love with someone (or something to that effect.) One day his younger sister Nanoka, 15 years his junior, enters his life. The two have not met ever since Nanoka was a baby, and here comes the dilemma: Koshiro, in addition to his natural fraternal feelings towards Nanoka, begins to feel something more, something deeper that at first he tries to deny. On the other hand, Nanoka is delighted at the prospect of living with a brother, since she’s wanted to have one all her life. Soon she becomes drawn in deeper in her thoughts of Koshiro, and something’s sure to happen.

Now I guess at this point you have an idea of what’s coming. Yes, that’s exactly what’s going to happen. Are you feeling creepy? Hehe. One’s appreciation of Koi Kaze will depend on your mileage. If you’re sensitive to these kinds of things, it’s best to stop now and go to my next entry. It’s probably as good as this one. Oh, and LOTS OF SPOILERS FOLLOW, so be warned.

LOTS OF SPOILERS FOLLOW! Just wanted to say it again...

Still here? Good. After seeing the entirety of the series, I cannot remove this anime series from my mind. I still feel ambivalent about the series, but I think it’s pretty good – one of the best I’ve seen this year. In essence, the plot of Koi Kaze is about two people who try to fall in love despite the circumstances that conspire against them – and we all know we have a lot of that. And yet there’s something sad about the whole thing that I couldn’t place. At times I can’t help but root for these two – the series was set up that way, even though Koshiro can be a jerk sometimes. And at the same time I find myself wanting their relationship to pass on gracefully, for everything to be like it should be (or, like what we would like it to be.)

The series is quite serious at times, although the lighter aspects of the series are quite cute. The simple art style is very nicely done, and it kind of accents the realism of the series somehow (and the realism is what sets the series apart from other romance series - it's really that good.) The soundtrack is really good, but nothing really exceptional or memorable in my opinion. It is interesting to see the interaction of the two main characters towards each other and each episode I couldn’t help but wonder: is it the time? Will they cross the logical and societal barrier that keeps them apart?

The last two episodes come, and they are the episodes that I am still personally wrestling with (of course, in a figurative manner.) Koshiro and Nanoka eventually cross the barrier, and enter the land of no return (really! Believe me, watch the last two episodes and judge for yourself.) Chidori (Koshiro’s coworker friend,) who seems to me a lone voice of reason, perhaps in this context embodying society itself, tries to stop them both.

But you see, as the title of this entry entails, love is a powerful blinding force. It’s a strange tunnel-vision like thing that makes you focus on that special person, and nothing else. In reality, one would see that this isn’t the most practical decision to make. But it is love, and I think the point of the whole series is that if love is there, anything has a possibility to last. And as you would expect from what I wrote, Chidori fails – and the two lovers cross the barrier, one that all lovers go through at some point in their relationship, but in this context unsettled me somewhat, and it’s natural, considering the way our society treats such relationships. It made me reflect on it, and that earns some praise from me. I hated what Koshiro did, honestly. It resounded against my very being. But then, I thought, how could I blame him? He's human just like the rest of us.

(As these two episodes went on I am reminded strangely of Kim Ki-duk’s Bad Guy (or any of his films, actually.) The feeling I got here was similar to the feeling I got when watching those films.)

I’m not as optimistic about love as the mangaka of Koi Kaze probably is. The anime ending kind of reflects that – it feels logical and grounded in reality. The last episode is full of symbolism. At one point, Nanoka even thinks about a lover’s suicide (something that is explained in detail in the manga, but this route has been done in Korean melodramas for ages now, so you probably know why.) They carve their names in a tree in the amusement park where they met, and yet we know that, since the park is shutting down, no one will probably see that. Koshiro even asks himself why they are doing this – they know this relationship may not last forever, it may only be temporary. They will have to make changes, try to hide what feelings they have from others. But for this short moment, they press on, because I believe that they are very sure of one thing – that RIGHT NOW, they are in love. I think the ending may imply that they've finally gotten out of it, that they can end and move on, or it may mean the opposite. It makes Koshiro’s final words – ‘I Love You’ – even more ambiguous. Is it a goodbye? Is it a heartfelt declaration of his feelings?

After seeing the anime ending, I went to see what the manga ending was. The manga ending is similar to the anime ending, yet I felt it was better in pacing the last few moments of the series. It isn’t as ambiguous as the last episode of the anime, however, and that last episode, like it or not, is one of its strong points.

In the end, aside from that, there is no real resolution aside from the fact that the two lovers have finally accepted their feelings. There is, and there isn’t change. Life goes on. I mean, you can’t erase that love that is already there. Tragic, yes. There could have been times where such a thing could have been avoided or stopped. Where do these two go from here? Hell if I know. Ultimately it's up to us to imagine. But as enjoyable and as distressing and as endearing and as unsettling as this series was, I wish both of them good luck.

And so a month passes...

... and I'm back here again. A lot has happened since I last posted, and none of that had anything to do with anything unfortunate happening to me during Friday the 13th. Curiously, I always have a good day during Friday the 13th. Since I don't want to separate it again, let me go through it one subject at a time.

Narutimate Hero 3

A fighting game for the PS2. I thought it would wear out pretty quick but it's been surprisingly addictive. For a game like this to have 41 characters and have a surprising amount of balance and depth, while being fun at the same time is quite cool, in comparison to *other* fighting games that have a very unentertaining single player mode...

Vengeance Cake for Sale

I have finally finished Park Chan-wook's vengeance trilogy. So what do I have to say about the last installment of his trilogy, Sympathy for Lady Vengeance?

Well, I'll be coming up with something more comprehensive later, but for the moment, it's quite affecting and full of it's own brilliant and horrifying moments. It also approaches the subject of Vengeance in a different manner, and one can't help but feel something different with this movie in comparison to its other incarnations.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Homeroom Teacher

After a long time, I have finally seen all of the episodes of Gokusen, the TV Drama. It's hilarious and quite addictive. More on that later too.

The Death and the Strawberry

Been getting into Bleach as well. It's an anime/manga that sounds like Yu Yu Hakusho, but approaches the whole thing in a cool way. Episode 20 and counting...

Mixed Nuts

What is it with Japanese AV actresses of mixed heritage lately? They've been popping up everywhere. There are three main contenders: Nana, Maria Ozawa and Tina Yuzuki. I all honesty I like the last one, although in standard AV fashion all of them have mosaics. Nana is the most hardcore, however.

There. I hope I haven't bored you too much...

Something I Noticed

I guess it's a little strange making a post today. By the way, today is Friday the 13th.

Enjoy!

Present Confusion Awards 2005

Okay. Crappy Title, I admit.

2005 was quite an interesting year for cinema. Cannes picked a couple of dudes from Belgium for their gold palm; the Star Wars franchise finally closed its movie doors; remakes and sequels were the order of the day for Hollywood; Park Chanwook finally finished his vengeance trilogy, Uwe Boll continued making mediocre garbage; and the indie cinema movement in the Philippines continued gaining attention and support.

Instead of the cursory top ten list, I’m going to present awards to movies and series that I saw this year that gained my attention. They don’t have to be made in 2005, they include movies and series that I saw this year, regardless of the production date. Regretfully, there were some films I had to exclude from the list – it doesn’t make them any less good. It’s self explanatory, so don’t worry, it’s not that complicated. So let’s begin!

Best Watched Movie of the Year: Fight Club (1999)

the first rule of fight club is...

This movie is not just a movie; it is an entire philosophy crammed into 2 or so hours of entertainment. This movie is a swirling downward spiral of violence and insanity that after the movie, I simply wanted to watch it again, read the book, everything. David Fincher, thank you for this movie.

Best B-Movie/Guiltiest Pleasure Award: Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1993)

Like Fight Club, I wanted to watch this movie again after seeing it once… but for totally different reasons. This movie is also a swirling spiral of violence and insanity, and, surprisingly enough, unbridled hilarity. See Cynthia Luster crossdressing! See a man strangled by his own freaking intestines! See a jail warden with mints… in his eye! What the f…?

Runner Up: Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Camp literally overflows in this movie, from the hammy, totally overacting villain to the Keanu lookalike to the strange bilingual communication that goes on between the characters. Ever want a movie with a first half that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever? If the guys in the rubber suits weren’t enough… It’s also absolutely fun to watch.

Classic Movie/s of the Year Award: The Godfather Parts I and II

I’ll give you an offer you can’t refuse… to watch two of the best examples of American Cinema. The first, a long, epic portrait of a gangster family, is a modern masterpiece; the second one, in many respects, a worthy successor to the original, in some cases even surpassing the grim beauty of the first.

“I Am Oozing With Style” Award: A Bittersweet Life (2005)

This movie is the perfect example of a stylish movie. Taking Noir and Action elements together, the film simply… oozes with style.

Best Romantic Film: Someone Special (2004)

We know. Relationships Suck.

Korean romantic comedies are known for their formulaic plots, their melodramatic surprises, their formulaic characters. This film takes all these conventions and mocks them openly before throwing them out of the window. It’s also funny.

Runner-up: The 40-Year Old Virgin (2005)

This film is quite unique. I don’t really have much to say about it other than the fact that it is hilarious.

Filipiniana Award: Ala Verde, Ala Pobre (2005)

I can’t remove the images of this film from my mind. It’s a bit flawed, but it showed me that Filipino Cinema still has promise in good acting, good storytelling, good everything.

Runner-ups: Masahista (2005) and Ilusyon (2005)

One, a subdued character piece. The other, a moody, surreal romance. Both extremely good and both worth watching.

Asskicker Award – Male Category: Lee Byung-hyeon (A Bittersweet Life)

Let’s face it. He was in a movie that oozed style, and his cold, professional demeanor combined with his sharp fashion sense gave him a +924052080 upgrade in pogi points. If that made any sense…

Runner-up: Don Frye (Godzilla: Final Wars)

Don Frye: All-American Hero.

The man has a freaking katana, is the captain of a kick-ass ship, and speaks English in an otherwise Japanese film. He looks like an ultra-buff version of the captain guy from Robotech or something. I have no idea why he’s the runner-up, but he kicks so much ass and exudes an aura of asskicking that it’s weird not to include him.

Asskicker Award – Female Category: Kanae Uotani (Sky High)

I just had to put a picture: Kanae Uotani

She’s hot, she also has a freaking katana, and she’s hot. Did we say she was hot? She also kicks ass. Ryuhei Kitamura has this knack of bringing out the asskicking abilities of people. Kanae Uotani, one of his staple actresses (she’s appeared in almost every film he’s made,) is the best example of this.

Oh, and did we mention she was hot?

Runner-up: Aya Ueto (Azumi 2: Death or Love)

I can’t believe you can make someone kick so much ass while being so cute at the same time. Aya Ueto manages to do this whilst being splattered with tons of blood in Azumi 2.

WTF Insanity Award: Pistol Opera (2001)

wtf?

Seijun Suzuki has been making films into his nineties, and Pistol Opera is one of them. I don’t know what kinds of insane things happen when you get old, but damn. What happens if you get an insane 1960’s film called Branded to Kill and remake it into an even more incomprehensible, insane film? You get Pistol Opera. It isn’t even funnily insane, it’s just… insane.

Arty Art film of the Year: 3-Iron (2004)

Kim Ki-duk’s works from Crocodile to Samaria finally culminate in a great treatise on love and alienation and separation and all those little things that trouble us in our sleep as we pine away on lost love. That was a long sentence, wasn’t it? Oh, and the two main characters hardly speak for the entire movie, and still there’s characterization. Actions speak louder than words.

Runner-Up: This Charming Girl (2004)

She walks in hidden beauty.

The portrait of a woman with a past. Of course, how she is portrayed may be nothing like what you think. It’s intelligent, quite and contemplative. I like it.

Anime of the Year Award (Finished): Genshiken

It was hard trying to think which Anime series I’ve finished watching is worthy to be called best of the year, since I’ve seen so many. There’s Wolf’s Rain, This fun look into the lives of otaku and the otaku lifestyle in general touched me, warmed my heart, made me sympathize. It’s only 12 episodes long, but each is worth the watch.

Runner-up: Samurai Champloo

Another excellent anime series that is truly a mishmash of concepts and a homage to the samurai/jidaigeki genre in general.

Anime of the Year Award (Unfinished): Naruto

It’s slow as hell and packed with filler, but this series made me feel like a young boy again. Great series.

Runner-up: Azumanga Daioh

Uniquely funny, the series seemingly has no plot and direction but it has. It also has a cast of the most endearing characters in an anime.

Double Punch

Two movies about boxing. Both are dramas, both are underdog stories. One is a good teacher on what to do to exceed conventions in making films like this, the other is the opposite. Making a boxing film is a bit easy, especially if it’s a drama – somehow the sport is evocative of stories of self determination and victory over adversity – that’s the kind of things audiences like. That’s also one of the reasons I liked The Contender – it brings the story of the aspiring boxer to a more personal level, despite the reality show spin it had to it. These fighters had families, had dreams, had aspirations. It makes the drama more entertaining, not to mention the matches they would go through. Like some guy said, a fight reads better if there’s a backstory between the fighters involved – it makes you want to care for them, it makes you want to root for them.

Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby is an underdog story, of sorts. Hilary Swank plays a waitress/aspiring woman boxer who wants a trainer/manager to teach her the finer aspects of the art. Clint Eastwood happens to be one, and he’s in the area. However, in his trademark gruffly voice, he doesn’t want to, because of various failures in his past. Insert a few sidestories involving a kid who wants to be a boxer too despite being picked on by everybody else, and an event that changes the story flow into the last third, and you have this film.

Technically the film is well done. The feel is very heavy-handed, dark and moody. The screen seems to be saturated in hues of dark blue, which highlights the mood of the film, if the rest of the film hasn’t done that already. The music is also well done, as is the camerawork. You can expect such a quality from Eastwood’s films.

Despite the fact that the movie is well done, something about the execution bothers me. The story is, basically, like the plot of a made-for-TV movie. The characters are no exception either – aside from Eastwood’s character, they lack complexity. They are just simple one-dimensional characters that serve no purpose but to stand there and act their roles like little toy soldiers. Everyone is so easy to categorize, so easy to classify. If you’re good in this film, you’re very, very good. If you’re a villain in this movie, you’re basically scum. It’s tolerable to an extent or if you’re making a point, but this is ridiculous – it makes the whole movie feel fake. Hell, even Godzilla isn’t totally bad. Of note are the parents of Hilary’s character and the East German Boxer who faces off against my heroine in her last fight. They’re eeeeeeeevil, and it is shoved down into our throats that these people are eeeeeeevil. Okay, we get it. They’re evil. Also, the good guys are good just because the people who made the movie say so, not because we come to like them. This is a pitfall for many movies.

Is it because the director or the scriptwriter underestimates the intelligence of the audience that they do this? I don’t really know. In fairness to the movie, the actors do their jobs quite well, with what little they were given with. Clint Eastwood does well as the gruffly hardass with a past. Hilary Swank makes her role so sympathetic you will cry if you fall into her feminine wiles (hehe). Morgan Freeman, who narrates the film and acts as our eyes into the film, just does his job, although I think he was sadly underused.

Another way of looking at this film is as a dark fairytale, a kid’s story told to adults. My appreciation of the film increases a bit when I think of it this way, although not too much. The melodrama makes this prime Oscar Bait - and guess what, it did win at the Oscars. Stick to films like Unforgiven – they’re still Eastwood’s best.

* * * * * *

On the other hand, what if there was no real enemy – what if two underdogs – two people you desperately want to root for – face each other in the ring? Who would you root for? The 2005 film Crying Fist poses this question. Directed by talented filmmaker Ryu Seong-wan (Arahan, No Blood No Tears,) this film is a boxing film, and it is also a melodrama. It fits the latter because it’s about the lives of two men who wish to change their lives through boxing.

One of them, portrayed marvelously by the director’s brother Ryu Seong-bum, is a young man who has taken the wrong choices in life much too easily. Although he doesn’t talk much in the opening minutes of the film, you could see the restraint, the deep, swirling, violent emotions within him, yearning to break free. Eventually he gets sent to jail for getting involved in one crime too many, and there he discovers boxing as a way to repent for his sins.

On the other hand, Choi Min-sik portrays a former Asian Games silver medalist now down on his luck. His recent financial troubles have caused strain on his relationships with his wife and young son. Soon, he is forced to become a human sandbag in the streets for money. He’s portrayed as a total loser, much like his character in Failan. He plays his character with much heart that it is hard not to be heartbroken when he gets into desperate situations with his job and his former colleagues.

As you may notice, neither of the two characters could be classified as purely good or bad. At the start they’re quite unlikable, but over time, as we get to know them more, we begin to sympathize with them. We aren’t forced to like them, we do only after a long process. That’s what good storytelling does. We realize that however unsavory these characters might seem at first, despite the crap they go through, their hearts are basically in the right place. Anyone who has gone through hardships in life can understand the things they’re going through. It’s hard, and it tests your resolve to live on. At one point in the movie Choi’s character tells someone that he’d probably have killed himself had it not been for his son – his son is the tether that holds him to his life.

Eventually, both catch wind of a boxing tournament, and both decide to join – not only for their own sakes, but for the sake of those they love, in the hopes that a win could allow them to give their loved ones a better life. They fight for dignity and for the chance to stand out in a world that has shunned them.

This excellent characterization owes much to the superb performances by both main actors – at times it seemed like Choi and Ryu were both vying for my attention in the best way possible. Although we know the veteran Choi is a damn good actor and he shows that in spades, props have to go out to Ryu Seong-bum, who gives a career-defining performance in this movie. He’s completely unrecognizable from his earlier role as the bumbly, well-meaning cop in Arahan.

Technically the film delivers in many ways, with the cinematography darkening the visual atmosphere of the film to deliver a gritty feel, reminiscent of Ryu’s older films like Die Bad and No Blood, No Tears. The world is portrayed as a violent place, and no one is seemingly safe.

One of the best set pieces in the film is when Ryu and Choi’s characters face off. The music is that of a Maori folk song, sung by the women to welcome their warrior men after coming back from the battle. The scene intercuts between the faces of the combatants, bloodied and bruised, and you can see the sheer determination that these two characters have – that they won’t ever bear being knocked out. It tells me that the movie is about the journey and the self-transformation. They may have been lost before, but through boxing they have come home to where – and who – they truly belong.

The Drama

What is it with me with anime series based on H-games lately? This latest one I’ve seen is called Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, translated as “The Eternity You Wish For.” I’m glad to say that it’s not a Hentai. I’m also surprised to say that it’s a school drama that isn’t really a school drama – it’s done more in the style of a soap opera or chinovela – and it really, really works. I’m not spoiling anything, but the series has one of the best introductory episodes in an anime, rivaled only by the introductory episode of Saikano.

The series starts with Mitsuki, Haruka and Takayuki, three friends in high school. Mitsuki’s on the swim team and is best friends with Haruka and casual friends with Takayuki. Haruka’s in love with Takayuki, and ever the good friend, Mitsuki even helps her with her confession. Takayuki, on the other hand, is ambivalent as hell and can’t make a decision. Everything settles down, however, until one single event changes everything.

The series deals with character interactions, and there are lots, and they are sad, even depressing as hell in some parts. I found myself at different points in the series saying “Oh, the Drama!” thanks to the sheer dramatic impact of some scenes. These characters are put into different levels of mental and psychological anguish so many times that it’s hard not to feel sorry for them.

One thing that interests me is how love scenes were inserted into the storyline without compromising their integrity. This is based on an H-game, after all. The sex, however, is not explicit and could be in an R-15 movie. It also brings depth and complexity to the stuff that’s happening to the characters – something that’s very admirable, considering the many ways this stuff can turn out to become.

The director of the series obviously intended to infuse a sense of realism in the telling of the story, and his efforts come as a bit of a pleasant surprise. There aren’t any world-destroying aliens or mutants or anything else to deal with, there are only people - damaged people at that - and their wounds are deeper than any physical scar could inflict.

The series has an atmosphere of despair hovering over it; I won’t be lying to you if I said this show was sad. It is, and very much so. It’s not an anime that everyone will like either – people looking for solid drama and something a little different from normal anime fare can look here.

The Disappointment

A few years ago, I watched an anime series based on an H-game. Despite the nature of most H-games, I had heard that this anime series was a very sweet one, and it was a school based romance-drama. Little did I know that To Heart, the anime series I watched back then, would be one of my all-time favorite anime, changing the way I viewed romantic dramas and how I saw romantic stories in general forever. I even adapted my writing style on it for a few years. Full of excellent characterization, a very sympathetic main male protagonist (despite the fact that he looks bored 90% of the time) and female protagonist, contemplative scenes that belie their complexity as well as general cuteness all around (who wouldn’t find Multi cute?) made this quite the anime series to watch for me.

Imagine my disappointment, two or so years later, when I found that the anime sequel to To Heart, the 13-episode To Heart: Remember My Memories, was nothing like its predecessor. It is true literally and figuratively: everything with the two series is different, except for the voice actors, and the fact that it was based on an H-game. Everything else is different, and I’m sorry to say that it’s a bad kind of different.

Firstly, as we are thrust into the first episode, we see that a year has passed for protagonists Hiroyuki and Akari. The first thing you notice from the getgo is that the character designs have stepped down a notch. Honestly speaking, despite the closer affinity to the original character designs from the game, they’re simply ugly and generic. This especially applies to Hiroyuki himself, who looks entirely different from his other incarnation.

This is compounded by two other things: the change in direction and the change in character personalities. Let’s begin with the first one. The first few episodes alone tell you how much the series has changed in directorial tone. I enjoyed the first series’ leisurely, episodic pace, with the stories being more or less slice-of-life. This new series’ pace is faster, and relies more on 2-3 episode dramatic arcs that feel fast and a bit overdramatic for my taste. It’s more of a conventional style of dramatic storytelling that resembles a telenovela. I’ve never really liked those. Plus, the scale of the stories feel different: in the first series the show was pretty much small-scale and character-focused. Here we get the sense of something bigger, something that’s larger-scale. The slice-of-life aspect is downplayed in favor of dramatic resolution that could have honestly been done better.

For the second point, it is kind of understandable that characters’ personalities would change over time. After all, time has passed. However, the change is too abrupt; I would have settled for character changes to develop over time, in a more subtle manner. The most drastic changes are with Kotone and Hiroyuki; here the result is a jarring transition that spoils the entertainment value from me. Kotone is more assertive, even cheerful, less shy; Hiroyuki turns into a male version of Shiho who screams “Multiiiiiii!” every five minutes. It gets even worse when in a later episode, Kotone semi-goes back into her demeanor in the first series. More confusion ensues.

One grave mistake this series made is to follow its H-game roots too closely – it treats the characters in a ‘harem’ manner - as if we need another damn series with all of the female characters in love with the male protagonist, as is the case here. In the first series Hiroyuki treats the various female characters in different ways, not all involving romantic emotions. For example, he treated Multi in a brotherly, even patronizing manner; he served as a helping hand towards Aoi; he served as someone who was eager to listen in the case of Serika. Kotone was in love with someone else (I won’t spoil who) but in the second series she magically falls in love with Hiroyuki – even if in the first series it was with Akari that she interacted with the most – she barely even spoke with Hiroyuki. Er… yeah. Whatever.

Luckily, the series picks up at around episode 8, when the drama becomes marginally worth watching. It elevates the status of the series from “horrible” to “halfway decent.” It still isn’t that good, though. The only good things I liked from this one was how it made the first series so much better, as well as the voice acting. To Heart fans should avoid this at all costs. Anime fans will see this as another mediocre series, a far cry from the brilliance that was the first one.

Black Lotus

Dancing wildly the raindrops fall
Here walks a man whose time has come
He walks of his own volition to his doom

Silent are his steps through the cold streets
The mountains of stone and the sky
That weeps for his fate.

His face betrays no emotion,
His hand gripped on the handle of his blade
His only comfort in this moment.

A red flower on the ground, scattered petals

On another concrete mountain
An empty heart sits, alone
Watching the city behind cold glass

No longer does he remember
The songs he once loved
Now dirges whispered through space

Broken glass lying on the floor, gleaming with moonlight

In a garden closed from the sky
Someone dances without abandon
Arms outstretched, accepting

Her heart slowly fading away
Hollow, vacant
She waits for the dance to end

She remembers her past
And that which she knew as love
And she momentarily smiles

In circles she spins, leaves falling
Unmindful of impending vertigo
Accepting her turmoil as her strength

A ray of hidden sunlight, peeking out for one second

In the tempest of raindrops
Tears fall down her cheek
Running aimlessly towards nothing

She searches for that lone man
She pursues his shadow in vain
And the tears and raindrops mix

And she stares into the memory
Of the shadow and sees herself

And she runs, determined
To catch a fading dream

A Serendipitous Discovery

While I was browsing through books at the local Powerbooks I found a great, fat tome entitled 1001 movies you must see before you die. Including a comprehensive collection of movies up to the very beginning of 2003; I heard recent editions having movies later than that. Anyway the book is a great, enjoyable read for casual readers and fans of film. What interests me is the one Filipino entry in the collection, Maynila sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag. Other Asian films in the list include a couple entries from India, the usual Kurosawa/Ozu/Imamura/Mizoguchi and a Korean film or two.

I tried to see how many movies in the list are movies that I've seen, even partially. I compiled a list and came up with a pathetic 164 movies. They are:

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

3. Gone With the Wind (1939)

4. Pinocchio (1940)

5. Citizen Kane (1941)

6. Dumbo (1941)

7. Casablanca (1942)

8. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) (part)

9. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

10. The Seven Samurai (1954)

11. The Ten Commandments (1956)

12. Ben-Hur (1959)

13. Psycho (1960)

14. Spartacus (1960)

15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

16. The Birds (1963)

17. The Nutty Professor (1963)

18. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

19. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

20. Planet of the Apes (1968)

21. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

23. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

24. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)

25. The Godfather (1972)

26. The Exorcist (1973)

27. The Godfather Part II (1974)

28. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

29. Manila in the Claws of Brightness (1975)

30. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

31. Rocky (1976)

32. Taxi Driver (1976)

33. In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

34. Star Wars (1977)

35. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

36. Saturday Night Fever (1977)

37. Five Deadly Venoms (1978)

38. Alien (1979)

39. Apocalypse Now (1979)

40. The Muppet Movie (1979)

41. Mad Max (1979)

42. The Shining (1980)

43. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

44. Airplane! (1980)

45. Raging Bull (1980)

46. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

47. Chariots of Fire (1981)

48. E.T.: The Extra-Terestrial (1982)

49. The Thing (1982)

50. Poltergeist (1982)

51. Blade Runner (1982)

52. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

53. Scarface (1983)

54. The Terminator (1984)

55. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

56. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

57. Ghostbusters (1984)

58. The Killing Fields (1984)

59. Ran (1985)

60. Back to the Future (1985)

61. The Quiet Earth (1985)

62. Aliens (1986)

63. Children of a Lesser God (1986)

64. Platoon (1986)

65. Top Gun (1986)

66. Project A, Part II (1987)

67. Full Metal Jacket (1987)

68. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)

69. The Untouchables (1987)

70. Akira (1988)

71. The Naked Gun (1988)

72. Big (1988)

73. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

74. Die Hard (1988)

75. A Tale of the Wind (1988)

76. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

77. Rain Man (1988)

78. Batman (1989)

79. When Harry Met Sally (1989)

80. The Killer (1989)

81. Reversal of Fortune (1990)

82. Goodfellas (1990)

83. Dances with Wolves (1990)

84. Pretty Woman (1990)

85. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

86. Total Recall (1990)

87. Once Upon a Time in China (1991)

88. Thelma & Louise (1991)

89. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

90. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

91. JFK (1991)

92. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

93. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

94. Candy Man (1992)

95. Farewell My Concubine (1993)

96. Thirty Two Films about Glenn Gould (1993)

97. Groundhog Day (1993)

98. Philadelphia (1993)

99. Jurassic Park (1993)

100. The Puppetmaster (1993)

101. Schindler's List (1993)

102. The Piano (1993)

103. Hoop Dreams (1994)

104. Forrest Gump (1994)

105. Clerks (1994)

106. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

107. The Lion King (1994)

108. Natural Born Killers (1994)

109. Pulp Fiction (1994)

110. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

111. Chungking Express (1994)

112. Babe (1995)

113. Toy Story (1995)

114. Strange Days (1995)

115. Braveheart (1995)

116. Heat (1995)

117. Seven (1995)

118. The Usual Suspects (1995)

119. The Pillow Book (1996)

120. Fargo (1996)

121. Independence Day (1996)

122. Trainspotting (1996)

123. Scream (1996)

124. L.A. Confidential (1997)

125. Happy Together (1997)

126. Princess Mononoke (1997)

127. Open Your Eyes (1997)

128. Titanic (1997)

129. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

130. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

131. Run Lola Run (1998)

132. Pi (1998)

133. The Thin Red Line (1998)

134. Ring (1998)

135. There's Something About Mary (1998)

136. Magnolia (1999)

137. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

138. Taboo (1999)

139. The Audition (1999)

140. Fight Club (1999)

141. Being John Malkovich (1999)

142. American Beauty (1999)

143. Attack the Gas Station! (1999)

144. Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

145. The Sixth Sense (1999)

146. The Matrix (1999)

147. In the Mood for Love (2000)

148. Gladiator (2000)

149. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

150. Meet the Parents (2000)

151. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

152. Traffic (2000)

153. Memento (2000)

154. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

155. Amelie (2001)

156. And Your Mother Too (2001)

157. Spirited Away (2001)

158. Moulin Rouge (2001)

159. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

160. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

161. The Pianist (2002)

162. Talk to Her (2002)

163. City of God (2002)

164. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

In addition, I have a few movies that I personally want to see, or movies that I already have but are yet unseen. They are, among others:

1. M (1931)

2. Rashomon (1950)

3. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

4. Lolita (1962)

5. Woman in the Dunes (1964)

6. Dr. Strangelove (1964)

7. Alphaville (1965)

8. Come Drink with Me (1966)

9. Dersu Uzala (1974)

10. Eraserhead (1977)

11. Koyaanisqatsi (1983)

12. Tampopo (1986)

13. Peking Opera Blues (1986)

14. Red Sorghum (1987)

15. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

16. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

17. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

18. Unforgiven (1992)

19. Man Bites Dog (1992)

20. Tetsuo (1998)

21. Amores Perros (2000)

22. What Time Is It There? (2001)

23. Fat Girl (2001)

24. Mulholland Dr. (2001)

That wraps it up. The only caveat is the book is 1700 pesos - quite expensive. Well, there's always Christmas...