Vancouver International Film Festival - Film #1: Where Are You

So I went to my first film from this year's line-up and saw Where Are You

Basic synopsis: Ryo is a poor boy living in a single room shack in Japan. His mother is sick and on her death bed while his father has abandoned the two of them awhile ago. After getting fired from his part-time job at a local convenience store and facing hospital bills and funeral costs for his mother, Ryo resorts to stealing as a means to survive in Japan.

This was a depressing film, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Throughout the entire movie, there is no hope at all for the main character; everything about him and his situation is tragic. The director, Kobayashi Masahiro, has a great directing style - from the simplest scenes of Ryo scarfing down a bowl of instant noodles to Ryo sitting on a bench with his head down at the hospital - the director is able to show his audience exactly who Ryo is and dark world he faces at a very young age. The script, with its minimal lines, is very fitting for the film and may even strengthen the overall mood and tone of the storyline; the audience always knows what's going on. The script really helps to articulate just how lonely Ryo's life. While Where Are You? doesn't necessarily pull at the heart strings (I wasn't balling my eyes out and I'm a huge crybaby when it comes to sad dramas), it left me feeling very sad and depressed that such situations do occur for some children.

Overall, a good movie. Probably wouldn't see it again though... it's just too heavy for the heart and mind.

Zombieland #1 in Its Opening Weekend

Zombieland, starring Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone, finally opened in theatres this past weekend and went on to take the box office for its opening weekend.

With a relatively small production budget of $23.6 million, Zombieland already made back its money by taking in $24, 733, 155 in the North American market. With Halloween just around the corner and movie-goer buzz surrounding this movie, it should have no problem making a nice tidy profit for its producers.

Interesting thing to note: Not since the ScaryMovie trilogy has a horror-comedy film opened at #1.

And Zombieland isn't even a spoof movie - it's just straight up fun.

So if you haven't seen it yet, or are unsure if you want to watch it.... just do yourself a favour and watch it.

Awesome Cover

For as long as I can remember, I've always been a huge fan of KPop.
When I was younger, my obsession for Kpop was so severe that when my mom rented me music shows from the Korean video store, I would convince my sister to mimic kpop's biggest stars with me. We used to dance and sing along to some of Korea's biggest musical acts - Roo'Ra, DJ Doc, Deux, Park Jin Young (before he became a super producer and wore plastic pants as part of his costume)... the list goes on...
Throughout my teenage years, the internet nursed this obsession as I found fellow Kpop fans from around the world. Not only was I getting the latest music from South Korea, but I was also interacting with people who knew why it was so dope to hear 1TYM's preview tracks even before the CD was released. I was a frequent forum visitor and would spend nights on end browsing through forums and sharing media files. I read people's fanfics and commented on them as I daydreamed about being Fly To The Sky's Brian Joo's girlfriend (hey, we're only two years apart and him being a Korean-American diminishes any communication/cultural barriers)

I was a Kpop geek... a die-hard fan... even my email address/instant messaging ID had the initials of my favourite Korean star (What up Yoo Seung Jun)

But as I've gotten older, I find that it more difficult to keep up to date with my beloved Kpop.

I don't belong to any forums. I don't rent music shows from the video store. I stopped buying CDs. I even stopped daydreaming about Korean stars...

Which ultimately sucks.

Because Kpop is unlike any other music.

Which is why I guess I try to still stay in touch with my favourite source of popular culture. My interest in Kpop helped to stir an interest in media and its influence on our society and encouraged me to study it to a greater extent in school. Even though it's harder for me now (primarily cause I'm an adult and I have a real life to tend to), I can't turn my back on the one thing that have consistently made me happy in my life.

That being said...

I found this awesome cover of G-Dragon's 'Heartbreaker' by this white guy.

This is the original MV.
(FYI: G-Dragon, real name Kwon Ji Yong (hey! we share a last name!) is the leader of Korean boy band, Big Bang. He's been wth YG Entertainment since he got into Yang Hyun Suk's car back in 2001 - A-Yo!)





Yeah, people think he looks like a Korean version of Lady Gaga. But the song's really catchy


This is the awesome cover




He freaking rocks. I love how the hallyu movement reaches beyond Korea and Koreans. It excites me that globalization allows others to enjoy the same music that I absolutely love.

I love NPH

So as I was just wasting time at work and browsing the world wide web when I came upon this story:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/television/news/e3i04299584a9f4430c65e24d7c8b956c82

Apparently, CBS is close to signing him on to host the Emmys this year

I love Neil Patrick Harris.

I love How I Met Your Mother. (You should really watch it if you haven't done so already)

I love his cameo in the Harold and Kumar series.

I think he'll do a great job and hopefully, entice more viewers to HIMYM.

Turn my swag ooooooonnnnnnnn~~~!

God, I really want to see this concert!

Not so much for Lil' Wayne (who totally exploded in 2008)

But because I want to see Young Jeezy Put On for Vancouver, Soulja Boy to Turn His Swag On, Drake to sing about the Best [He] Ever Had and special guest, Jeremih to explain Birthday Sex

Plus, it's been awhile since I've been to an urban music concert and since I'm missing Rock the Bells (the lineup for this is crazy! Nas and Damian Marley headlining a stellar cast! Damn wedding that I RSVP'd for already) and the last concert I saw was New Kids on the Block (don't hate, it was actually a good concert. I've never seen so many 30-something year-old women scream like they were teenagers again), I'm kind of itching to see another show.

The show should be a good one

Can someone tell the Pussycat Dolls to pronounce things properly?

Living in Vancouver, our major radio station The Beat 94.5 constantly plays the Pussycat Dolls' version of A.R. Rahman's hit "Jai Ho" from 2008's Oscar darling, Slumdog Millionaire

What bothers me tremendously about the PCD version is how they pronouce Jai Ho

The song title is spelled "Jai Ho", Rahman sings "Jai Ho" and yet they say "Jay Ho"!!

ARG!

It's annoys me so much because I find it disrespectful on many levels

1) It's Rahman's song! Why did get he shafted to little 1 second clips of him throughout the video? I understand Nicole and the rest of the girls are much nicer to look at but he got demoted to cameo status in the video

2) If the original singer says "Jai Ho", why are they saying "Jay Ho"? It's not like the English tongue cannot pronouce "Jai". That's almost as bad as people who can't pronouce ethnic names and instead brutally butcher the pronounciation instead.

3) The song is so damn catchy! I hate the song, it really annoys me but damn, I can't stop singing it...

Jay Ho you guys.... jay ho.

Looks like Chris Brown's channeling Will Smith's Hancock look

Found this picture at Reuters.com
Apparently Brown was seen sitting courtside during Game 5 of the NBA Finals basketball series between the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers in Orlando, Florida, June 14, 2009.

Chris Brown and his legal team are currently seeking to prolong his court hearing on the account that his lawyer wants the court to rule on a probe into the information leak from the police department.

Honestly, a delay in the hearing won't really help the fallen R&B star.

People are already up in arms over his alleged beating of R&B sweetheart, Rihanna. A majority of the vast public have already declared Brown guilty and have turned their backs on the star. Exactly how his team will work to rebuild his tarnished image is beyond me. Even if he owns up to the allegations, he will serve prison time and will most likely be subject to PSAs galore (I can see the ad now: Domestic Violence Hurts Us All). In addition, if he in indeed found guilty, can people (namely his female listeners) really take him seriously when he goes back to singing his sweet love songs?
Cause I highly doubt he'll be singing about 'thug life'.