our ghibli dosage for 2006.

gedo senki (gedo war history)



am a huge beyond huge fan of features from studio ghibli and miyazaki though admittedly i had to be eased into true appreciation through the light-hearted antics of the cat returns which also revealed a surprisingly mature understanding of emotions. after about 2 or 3 more viewings and a deeper relation with the characters, spirited away is superb and deserves the oscar win. although howl's moving castle had major loopholes, i enjoyed it and understood how miyazaki wins over audiences by capitalising on feel-good elements in a story. gedo war history is being directed by miyazaki junior and it is based on ursula leguin's 'a wizard of earthsea' which some of you may know had been adapted into a hallmark mini-series earlier this year 'earthsea' (with shawn ashmore and kristin kreuk) that is hated by leguin and devout leguin fans. hope this one turns out decently. slated to be released in japan in july. *whine* will post a link to the trailer once it's released throughout cyberville.

i've been nice this year... so santa dropped by earlier...



a graphic novel adaptation of original story material by darren aronofsky. wicked!

although it's set to hit the us theatres, kairo (pulse) isn't that new after all! a more recent horror film by kiyoshi kurosawa hovers close in the horizon. shi no otome (loft) tells the story of an award winning author who puts up in a mansion with her editor to finish a piece which incidentaly houses a professor and his latest find, a mummified body. strange and frightening accounts ensue. i watched the trailer and it's blardy freaky, folks! the soundtrack is just unnatural. click here... make sure it's day.

gimme gimme gimme NOW!!!

i love it when studios start to plug their upcoming movies with teasers. early buzz tantalises without the stifling jubilation of major companies bringing out the big guns (read: a hundred redone trailers and tv spots, paper ads, product promotions, press releases, etc) as they roll out the red carpet in preparation for the arrival of their films' debut. by far, this is my other favourite part of a film's journey from script to screen aside from the intense anticipation during the pre-production, filming and post-production stages. and thus, i intend to enjoy this moment as much as i can as long as i am able to before the buzz picks up pace and further spawns a million other bandwagons worldwide.

these films are seriously putting me in maximum overdrive...
be smart, get quicktime 7.

the fountain



4 years... i have been waiting for this for 4 years. i have sweated, cried, bled, risen and fallen through its trials and tribulations. from its conception to its near death when brad "shafter" pitt abadoned the project only 3 weeks before filming was due to work on...ugh...troy. completely daft if you ask me. hugh jackman is my hero. with his involvement, the hacks (read: studio officials) felt it was safe to let the project resume. this is a stunning piece of work and considering aronofsky's narrative and visual talents (and the fact that i'm a huge fan of his earlier works), i can only hope that this film will turn out as great as it looks thus far from where i stand. one love story about a man's journey to seek out the fountain of youth in order to save one woman, his love, from death. a story that occurs simultaneously over a thousand years. the past (1500), the present (2006) and the future (2500). am also intending to sniff out the graphic novel adaptation of the script... so much for controlled expenditure. get the fantastic trailer here!

pirates of the caribbean 2- dead man's chest



captain jack is back. need i say more? get ye ol' trailer, here.

x3- final stand



ok, i have to admit that when it comes to the x-men, i'm a puritant... and one of the worst at that. love bryan singer but not quite his first effort on the film adaptation of my favourite comic book series as a kid. x2 appeased the puritanical monster in me a bit because i felt that the spirit of x was kept alive in that one. when he abandoned x3 to work on...ugh... superman returns (you have to understand that i'm not much of a dc fan unless it involves batman, i'm more of a marvel upstart) just as he was about to get his x-groove, i was devastated. and when i heard brett ratner took his place, i was ready to give up all hope. but... to be fair... after watching the trailer for x3, i am rather intrigued. and so arrives the glimmer of hope. i am pleased to see the fantastic olivia williams join the cast as dr. moira mactaggart, one of xavier's oldest friends and former flame. i am a little baffled by kelsey grammer portraying beast... i'm not sure he has the gait but i must say, he does have the voice. and voice is terribly important. well, only one way to form an opinion... view the trailer.

the white countess



i am particularly interested in this because it is the last film worked on by the superb movie prowess of the merchant-ivory duo with the death of ismail merchant earlier this year. with a screenplay worked on by kazuo ishiguro (the same man behind the remains of the day, another merchant-ivory masterpiece), the story is set in 1930's shanghai where a blind american diplomant starts an affair with a russian refugee. get the trailer, here.

kairo (pulse)



to appease my appetite for fear and tension, horror has become a staple for me since childhood. i am fixated with asian horror. although the ridiculous multiplicity annoys me sometimes, there are a number of gems out there. this one sounds intriguing and the trailer is pretty creepy. anything that is effectively atmospheric will win me over. written by apparently the grandfather of japanese horror, kiyoshi kurosawa, the plot revolves around a group of teens who stumble upon a website that claims to be able to allow them to communicate with the spirits of the dead. watch creepy trailer...

dear wendy and manderlay

yes i know i've pretty much bugged my nearest and dearest to death about these two films for a long time but it's been over a year and there's still no sign of them crossing my path! i've put them in the same paragraph for they are both directed by two of my fave directors, thomas vinterberg (dear wendy) and lars von trier (manderlay) who incidentally are the geniuses behind dogme 95. both are equally interested in the study of human behaviour in social situations at large. watch dear wendy and be taken in by manderlay.

the da vinci code



i have to admit that i didn't survive reading the novel which i bought at the peak of its popularity just to see what the fuss is about. the story didn't quite attain and maintain my interest. i put the book down to pick up the catcher in the rye instead which soon reached my list of favourite books. i know i know... there's something wrong with me. i walk against the tide of the rest of the world's population who are dan brown fans. a friend tried to ignite my interest by telling me that even if i end up not liking the novel very much, it should be one of those books that i have to read before i die... i'm still debating if i should actually resume the book before this summer break ends. well, what do you guys think? should i? i wanna watch this because i like ron howard and i like the superb cast of audrey tatou, jean reno and sir ian mckellen... i must say i didn't quite picture tom hanks to portray langdon. hmmm. catch the trailer here! this is the new trailer... not the old teaser. just thought you should know. =)

poseidon

saw the older, original film, the poseidon adventure, on the dvd shelf at hmv going for 15 bucks! picked it up but it didn't make it through the check-out counter though. shame. anyway, i like das boot so i'm cool with wolfgang petersen. and richard dreyfuss, kurt russell, emmy rossum, josh lucas and mia maestro make quite a motley crue of a cast. interesting. about a luxury ocean liner attacked by a rogue wave after which a handful of survivors need to work together to live. get trailer here and hold your breath.

alrighty... these are just some of the newest and not that new teasers and trailers out recently to whet our celluloid appetite. enjoy!

"nothing serious for us to really worry about..."

air expelled from lungs, tight with trepidation, in one fluid exhale. simple words uttered and my life was rescued from the desolation of fear and loathing. suddenly, the cold stones in my gut dissolved. suddenly i didn't mind the uncomfortable sensation of leather sticking to the bare flesh on my back. it was nothing serious... well, nothing fatally serious anyway. thank You God. time and time again You've pulled me out of harm's way.

wander no more, dear child...

restlessness. bad sleeping hours. frustration. bleak moods. headaches. i usually can't decipher what's wrong. or maybe i don't think about them hard enough. i figured they could be side-effects of the year's trauma, ectoplasmic residue of assignment hell from my academic and emotional battles in perth. or maybe not. two days cooped up at home and my feet were starting to itch. i was only too eager to answer the call of the urban wild and took my irrational angst to the city streets.

like every pampered, bourgeois slacker of my generation, i decided to nurse my selfish wounds the only way i knew how. retail therapy. charge dad's card. as if my hatred didn't burn white hot enough. material things to soothe the pain. blatant denial through indulgence. man, the humanity. and thus i have acquired through hours of thoughtful and serious deliberation:



1) V for Vendetta graphic novel.

remember remember the 5th of november. thanks to the chaos, that is, the state of our world today, the film adaptation had been postponed to march next year when, in fact, it was supposed to have been released on yes the 5th of november this year. so i guess that gives me plenty of time to get aquainted with the original material. all about anarchy and the battle against oppression of a nanny state. something for everyone i reckon.
view the fantastic trailer.
please get quicktime 7.



2) Watchmen graphic novel

heard heaps of good stuff about this so why not seek the truth behind the legend. apparently it was one of the movers and shakers of superhero mythology as depicted in the comic book medium. so hope this turns out to be 7 levels of cool. anyway, it didn't come cheap. last i heard there is supposed to be a filmic adaptation but it's stuck in development hell shuttling between directors and screenwriters. there was a rumour that darren aronofsky (director of requiem for a dream and the upcoming the fountain) himself was thinking about picking it up. oh please dear God let that happen.



3) Anansi Boys a novel by Neil Gaiman

i'll read anything by neil gaiman. ANYTHING! i have to admit that his writing style may not be the best i've encountered but he does have superior imagination. can't wait to explore the world of spider gods, eccentric old ladies, voodoo, and a whole new netherworld of pain. devilish indeed.

and that was just yesterday. today i wandered the streets again and bought more things. the anger wouldn't stop until i returned home and released the bottled poison.

we talked, you and i and for the first time since i returned, we understood one another. we sought, we thought, we felt and we were moved. love never dissipated, it simply threw a tantrum and took a selfish holiday. i'm glad that we're back to normal.

normal. so simple a circumstance but so hard to maintain sometimes. i've not been well. i think i'm out of it for the entire year. but i want to get better. i need to. i have kept my shoes in the cupboard. my feet are no longer restless and they are weary. the prodigal daughter has returned.