12 Sunday May 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Random
Tags
It’s going to be a super-short Trailer Weekly today, with only two clips, because I’m really, really busy at the moment (more about that below). I wasn’t even sure if this Trailer Weekly was going to happen at all, but then I thought I should really squeeze these two trailers in because they just can’t wait…
Continue reading »
07 Tuesday May 2013
Tags
Here it is… the much awaited line-up for this year’s Terracotta Film Festival, bigger and better than ever. It’s divided into four sections (Current Films, Terror Cotta, Spotlight on Indonesia and In Memoriam of Leslie Cheung and Anita Mui), all screening at the Prince Charles Cinema (June 6–9), except for the Indonesia section, which will be held at the ICA (June 11-15). Further festival highlights include masterclasses and a short film competition (with a trip to Hong Kong as top prize).
Because it’s such a lengthy list of films, I’ve limited myself to one-sentence synopses. If it grabs your interest, watch the trailer and/or hop over to the official festival website, where longer summaries are featured.
The official website has just gone live, although links for booking (which is meant to open today) don’t yet work. I would expect booking to be available some time later this afternoon.
05 Sunday May 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Japanese, Korean
25 Monday Mar 2013
Tags
I didn’t quite manage to finish this Trailer Weekly last night, staying out somewhat late to attend one final screening of the London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (the Leesong Hee-il double bill). I rather enjoyed all films I watched as part of LLGFF this year (reviews to come), although I was struck by the fact that at most events viewers were predominantly male. Admittedly, except for آینه های روبرو (Aynehaye Rooberoo/Facing Mirrors, Iran/Germany, 2011), a drama on transgender identity, all films I saw focused on male-male relationships, but still… Does this mean that the audience of this festival is mostly made up of gay attendees? (If so, why?) And that those will often gravitate towards films reflecting their own sexuality/gender?
Trailers now:
17 Sunday Mar 2013
Tags
Posting early today as I’m off to see two films at the BFI Lesbian & Gay Film Festival this afternoon/evening (with a visit to Chinatown in between).
10 Sunday Mar 2013
The Pan Asia Film Festival began this week and I skipped my Japanese class to attend the screening of《女朋友。男朋友》(Nyeobungu. Nambungu/GF*BF, Taiwan, 2013) and somehow – despite that backlog of reviews that reaches to the moon - reviewed it within two days (admittedly, staying up till four in the morning was part of this)*. I didn’t however go to see Lotte Reiniger’s Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed (The Adventures of Prince Achmed), the world’s first feature-length animation from 1926, as I had originally planned – purely for reasons of laziness and the fact that it didn’t seem possible to book concession tickets at the Southbank online (and the £15 full price was a little steep). I am kind of kicking myself for this lack of self-motivation, because that is definitely not a film that screens every day, plus it’s just lame of me as someone who loves animation to skip such an event *hangs head in shame*. Coming up next week is more of the Pan Asia Film Festival, the bimonthly KCCUK screening and lots of the London Lesbian Gay Film Festival, which I’m super-excited for.
Trailers…….this Trailer Weekly somehow ended up being full of images (alternative posters and things of the sort) but most of all I think it’s a really fabulous selection of films this week. Just because I wish I could watch half of them like right now.
*And then of course, no one comments on the review that I lost sleep over! Oh, you lovely lurkers. Either that or it’s badly written. 
03 Sunday Mar 2013
Posted in Film, Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Korean, Japanese, Hong Kong
I’m actually not multiple days late with this Trailer Weekly but just right on time! I haven’t had dinner yet though 
… but that’s more so because I can’t make up my mind what to have. Ideally soup (which is comfort food in my book) with dumplings (gyoza, mandu, momos, whichever) but I haven’t got any dumplings and I’m not about to start making any from scratch on a Sunday night at 10 p.m. (if I had wonton wrappers, maybe). Ramen would do as well, but no ramen noodles in the house either so I think it’ll end up being a soup concoction involving some sort of Asian noodles, seaweed and miso. No tofu though, boohoooo. I really wish, by the way, corner shops would carry tofu (I eyed some halloumi cheese today, vaguely hoping it might turn out to be a block of soy, but of course it wasn’t). Anyhow, before I get too deep into my food contemplations, better I go cook something and leave you to peruse this week’s Trailer Weekly selection.
24 Sunday Feb 2013
Posted in Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Indie, Language
Tags
24 Sunday Feb 2013
This is actually last week’s Trailer Weekly, with a second one to follow later. At least I hope so, because I’m having a bit of hard time getting myself to do anything today. It’s the after-effect of having pulled an almost all-nighter - a friend from Costa Rica was passing through London so we chatted till about 3 a.m. at which point we were so tired that we slept for a couple of hours before my friend had to head off to Heathrow to catch his morning flight back to lovely Ticolandia ♥ (i.e. the country of Ticos, as Costa Ricans are affectionately known). I’m absolutely chuffed about all the Costa Rican goodies I’ve now got in the house now, from coffee from Heredia to Café Britt chocolates to dried piña-banano, but also very nostalgic, wishing I could myself hop on a plane to Central America this instant – I haven’t been back since I left in 2009 and that’s just too long. 
21 Thursday Feb 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Japanese
Tags
Also hot off the press today is the first trailer for「言の葉の庭」(Kotonoha no Niwa), Shinkai Makoto’s forthcoming feature animation film. Continue reading »
15 Friday Feb 2013
Posted in Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Film, Japanese, Manga / Manwha / Comic
Tags
Sunday was Chinese New Year so I will begin this Trailer Weekly with 恭喜发财! (Gong xi fa cai!). I actually ventured out to London’s Chinatown with a friend, fully intent on enjoying some Taiwanese food but the restaurant I had in mind had a queue about a mile long, even at 3 in the afternoon. In the end we opted for Japanese (vegetable & tofu tempura bento, plus lovely gyōza) and later watched a Japanese film at my friend’s house (Ghibli’s 「おもひでぽろぽろ」/ Omohide Poro Poro/Only Yesterday, 1991, after initially considering 「火垂るの墓」 / Hotaru no Haka/Grave of the Fireflies, 1988, even buying some comfort food and then copping out. Jajaja…). Anyhow, it ended up being a pretty un-Chinese Chinese New Year, despite all intentions. Ah well.
In terms of this belated Trailer Weekly, I thought it was time for another ‘Special’, with J-actresses that I know from doramas as the focus: Anne, Karina, Koyuki, Yoko Maki, Ueno Juri and Takeuchi Yuko. Continue reading »
14 Thursday Feb 2013
Tags
Year: 2012
Country: France/Japan
Language: Japanese
Director: Abbas Kiarostami
Screenplay: Abbas Kiarostami
Cinematography: Yanagijima Katsumi
Soundscore: Mohamadrez Delpak, Kikuchi Nobuyuki
Cast: Takanashi Rin, Okuno Tadashi, Kase Ryō, Denden
Runtime: 109 min
Trailer:
Seen at the film’s UK premiere at the 56th BFI London International Film Festival. Like Someone in Love will be released in select British cinemas via New Wave Films on June 21, 2013.
Like Someone in Love premiered in Cannes last year, where it sharply divided the critics, leaving some rather disenchanted, if not highly irritated, in particular with its rather abrupt ending. “[T]he curtain comes down with an arbitrary crash” noted Peter Bradshaw, resident film critic for The Guardian, while Mike D’Angelo (A.V. Club) gave it a “WTF” rating, declaring the final scene “a startling, truncated conclusion that seems completely out of proportion with the lazy, anti-urgent meandering that precedes it”, ending with the words ”I know there’s something happening here, but I don’t know what it is”. Continue reading »
04 Monday Feb 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Japanese
Tags
adaptation, documentary, ICA, London, Okada Masaki, trailers
In an effort to not fall behind with the Trailer Weeklies even more, I’m doing a double Trailer Weekly today – lots of films thus. I am a little late with that too, but that’s because I got to see「ゼロの焦点」 (Zero no Shōten/Zero Focus, Japan, 2009) from the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme tonight last night when I thought I wouldn’t (the screening was sold out but I got lucky in the end as the first one on the waiting list 
). It was quite a thrill to watch – a murder mystery set at a turning point in time for the Japanese nation. 「八日目の蝉」 (Youkame no Semi/Rebirth, Japan, 2011), another film on the Touring Film Programme that I saw on Friday, I enjoyed even more, but hopefully I’ll be able to share my thoughts with you in detail in some reviews soon.
Before we tackle the monster list of eleven trailers, I just wanted to mention (in case you missed it) that I added a new page on Otherwhere: a schedule of all the 2013 (South East) Asian film releases (both home and cinematic) in the UK.
13 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Events, Film, Japanese
Tags
The London air smelled like snow today – crisp and fresh. It hasn’t snowed (not yet anyhow), although some forecasts seem to say that it will. Who knows. My sister has been telling me since yesterday that Vienna’s turning white, I haven’t talked to my Mom yet whether the same is true for the hometown. My Dad is of course snow-less in Delhi, but he did send me a photo in December from Srinagar (Kashmir & Jammu), where travelling to the construction site was a bit of a fight against the elements (apparently they needed a tractor to tow them out).
December snow in Srinagar, India.
In case you can’t tell I love snow and the green Christmas this year was really a let-down (I got only snow dustings on the day I flew into Vienna and the day I flew out again. Boooohoooo.).
On to films now…. I have got five for you today:
06 Sunday Jan 2013
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Events, Film, Japanese
I’ve decided that today’s Trailer Weekly (okay, strictly speaking, I’m still a week behind) should be dorama-inspired. As in, full of films starring actors that I have seen and enjoyed in TV series but whose work on the big screen I also want to explore further. This one happens to be all about actors, but I’ll do an actress version at some point too. Continue reading »
23 Sunday Dec 2012
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Japanese, Korean
I’m still playing catch-up with the Trailer Weeklies. Aside from that missing #60, I’m a week behind… but I’ll keep trying, maybe I can get that #65 out before next Sunday. I should probably start scrutinising all those “Best films of 2012″ lists that tend appear around this time of the year (which I like to read for inspiration, but hate to create myself).
22 Saturday Dec 2012
It’s the final month of the KCCUK‘s Year of 12 Directors (and, yes, it’s already more than half-gone-by). I don’t really want to believe it either, for one because it means 2012 is nearly over but also because what in the world will we be doing on Thursday evenings starting from January on? I’m hoping the KCCUK will still organise some film screenings, but I’m guessing it won’t be quite as many as this year.
As for December: It’s Lim Soon-rye (임순례, sometimes also romanised as Yim or even Im Soon-rye) who is the final director of the year, and she’s also the only woman in the line-up – a reflection of that female directors in South Korea are still rather limited in number.* Continue reading »
25 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Film, Hong Kong, Japanese, Korean
Tags
My sister was visiting this past week so I played tour guide and ate a lot. Japanese food, Taiwanese food and South Indian food and, twice, at the awesome Candy Café. Plus goodies like ตะโก้ from the various Asian supermarkets in Chinatown (one of my favourite places in London). The brilliant thing about having an equally Third Culture Kid sister is that we just walk into these places and go ahhh! in total and utter delight of things we both know from childhood days. Or take pictures of the Doraemon cake slices in the Asian bakeries (invoking memories of cakes that never tasted like anything much but had the most elaborate, sometimes even 3-D scenes realised in buttercream). We/I didn’t do much film-wise, though I did drag my more cinematically mainstream oneesan into Beasts of the Southern Wild.
11 Sunday Nov 2012
I am still in Dublin and loving the Irish (so unlike grumpy, I-won’t-talk-to-you-even-if-you’re-standing-right-next-to-me Londoners!). And loving the Japanese too, because somehow quite a few of them turned up at the conference I was at. Given that it was a small postgraduate event that was unusual as these are normally only attended by people geographically placed in the same region. So, quite unexpectedly, I walked away with several めいし, invitations to visit Nagoya and Tokyo (and Dublin again) and some words added to my J-vocab. Plus, apparently I’m kawaii. 
11 Sunday Nov 2012
*Apologies for this post being only ready after the first screening took place!*
November may be filled with plenty of Korean cinema already – thanks to the London Korean Film Festival – but there is more film fare still, for the KCCUK‘s Year of 12 Directors is on the programme as well with Song Hae-seong (송해성) being the man of the month.
04 Sunday Nov 2012
Tags
I’m busy busy, so I’ll keep it short and go straight to this week’s selection of trailers.
28 Sunday Oct 2012
Tags
Film Festival, Hosoda Mamoru, Kon Satoshi, Miyazaki Hayao, Paris, Studio Ghibli, trailers, Tsumabuki Satoshi
Just in time this time round.
Hope you had a good weekend. It actually snowed in London, but only for 10 minutes and no one – except those of us up at 6 am on Saturday morning – noticed. I even saw three people in shorts at that hour, one being a runner, the other two… lunatics? At least I can’t figure out any other explanation for wearing shorts at 1 degree Celsius!
Anyhow, five trailers today (in order to be timely), all J plus one K.
23 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Film, Japanese
16 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in Anime / Animated Film, Events, Film, Korean
Tags
Birmingham, Bristol, Film Festival, Glasgow, KCCUK, London, trailers
Collage © alualuna.
UPDATED 19/10/2012 – Screening dates added. (Still incomplete – more soon.)
Hangul Celluloid is the one in the know and posted the full programme for the 7th London Korean Film Festival on his website yesterday, with details on film genre, director and runtime all provided. He did leave me the work of digging out all the titles in the original language and script, but, well, here you go!
The festival is scheduled to open on November 1st, with 37 films (shorts included) screening in total in London until November 10th, before moving on to Bristol, Bournemouth and Glasgow on the 11th for nearly another week of K-film galore. In London, films are set to be shown at the Odeon West End, Odeon Panton Street, Odeon Kingston, the KCCUK as well as at the ICA in London, plus the Glasgow Grosvenor cinema, the Odeon Bournemouth cinema and the Bristol Cube with individual dates yet having to be announced – updates will follow here.
15 Monday Oct 2012
Posted in Dorama / K-Drama / TW-Drama, Events, Film, Japanese, Korean, Literature, Manga / Manwha / Comic, Taiwanese
Tags
So here I am with the Trailer Weekly a day late. It’s such a busy time for me both at university as well as with all my gazillion part-time jobs and now with the London Film Festival added on top, I’m just barely squeezing in a few hours of sleep each night and not really doing much else! Hence the lack of posting.
I have however been jotting down notes on the films I have seen so far -「おおかみこどもの雨と雪」 (Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki/Wolf Children, Japan, 2012),「愛と誠 」(Ai to Makoto/For Love’s Sake, Japan, 2012), 「夢売るふたり」 (Yume Uru Futari/Dreams for Sale, Japan, 2012), 물고기 (Mulgogi/A Fish, South Korea, 2011) and「ライク・サムワン・イン・ラブ」 (Raiku samuwan in rabu/Like Someone in Love, Japan/France, 2012) - with several more still to come. Only Yume Uru Futari didn’t impress me all that much, most others (most of all Ookami Kodomo and Ai to Makoto!) I wish I could rewatch already tomorrow!
By the way, I think all the film posters this week – except the one for the Iranian film – are super boring. Boohoo.
