Hyde and Movies
First order of business: Hyde.
Went to the last concert of his US tour (I think it comprised of a staggering four shows, all in California) in San Francisco at The Fillmore on the 6th. It was pretty fucking awesome. Because of other stuff going on, we could only stay in SF for the one day (fly out in morning > concert > sleep > fly back to SLC) so it was a bit of a packed day but we managed two meals in J-Town and had a really good time. My first time into SF, actually. Been to the airport a couple times but that was it. The concert started at 9:00p so we showed up around 7:00p and got in back of a pretty long line full of fangirls. Some scary asian girl was dressed like Hyde and singing in a low voice and it was fucking frightening.
Got in and got hella close, probably about 10 feet from the stage. The opening band was called "Black List Club" and they were actually pretty good. Hyde came out around 10:00p and opened with Jesus Christ (big surprise there, that song just screams "opener") and played for over an hour. I was glad that the set-list wasn't too Faith-heavy (as much as I like Faith, I wanted to hear 666 even more). I thought the set-list was well balanced and amongst Hyde's engrish and typical antics it made for a very enjoyable night. Hyde busted out the accoustic for Horizon but I wish they would have played Mission cause it is one of my favorites. But I wasn't about to get hung up over one song ;o
Next order of business: asian movies.
I've been watching a lot of these with a friend lately so I figured I might as well post about them incase people are interested. In no particular order:
Battle Royale - THUMBS UP. Middle schoolers killing eachother. Everyone knows this one, I don't think I need to go into any detail.
Battle Royale 2 - THUMBS UP. This one gets a lot of hate from BR fans but I think it has enough redeeming qualities to make it worth watching (and enjoying). But it sure does have its plot holes and fucked up moments.
Chakushin Ari (One Missed Call) - THUMBS UP. People receive phone-calls with a creepy ring-tone that fortell their own deaths. Entertaining as far as J-Horror goes.
Chakushin Ari 2 (One Missed Call 2) - THUMBS UP. Really enjoyed this one, although it wasn't very scary at all. More like a J-Drama-Horror. The ending was pretty standard for this kinda movie but pissed me off, I'm too much of a romantic :<
Ju-On - THUMBS UP. Maybe the best J-Horror movie I've seen. Even though I thought the english release of "The Grudge" was good, this was way better.
Kairo (Pulse) - THUMBS DOWN. Too convoluted for its own good and the ending was just lol-worthy. Promising start but turns into a major flop.
Audition - THUMBS DOWN. This movie is fucked up. I'm sure anyone who is into asian movies has either seen or heard of this one. 3/4ths romance, 1/4th fucked up torture. "Kiri kiri kiri."
Tae Guk Gi - THUMBS UP. War drama about two brothers who are drafted. I don't even really like war movies but this movie is damn good. Love the drama. Watch it.
Ong Bak - THUMBS UP. Very good martial arts movie with a decent story and good fight scenes. Starts out a bit slow but it picks up.
A Tale of Two Sisters - THUMBS DOWN. This one falls into the typical problem many Asian horror movies have, which is the whole "lets make it so fucking confusing that people will think there is some deep and hidden meaning here." No good.
The Returner - THUMBS UP. A girl has to come back from the future to prevent the world from ending (sounds like The Terminator!). Such a great Japanese movie. WATCH IT. "Daggra!?"
R-Point - THUMBS DOWN. Military men sent to look for their comrades who dissapeared 6 months prior. Doesn't make sense. Tries to portray a deeper meaning (I think?) but fails hard. Watch it for the worst American acting ever, the black dude. You'll see who I mean.
Sex is Zero - THUMBS UP. American Pie Korean style. Incredibly over the top and much more nudity than it needs but this movie is really funny and has a dramatic twist near the end that actually doesn't suck.
Koma - THUMBS UP. Chinese movie about kidney thieves. Typical ending, should have seen it coming but was oh-so-hoping otherwise. The romantic in me, again :< Good movie though.
Bu-Su (The Booth) - THUMBS UP. A J-Horror movie that actually contains almost no horror at all. Maybe too slow-moving for some but I actually really enjoyed this movie.
More will be added as they are watched.
Went to the last concert of his US tour (I think it comprised of a staggering four shows, all in California) in San Francisco at The Fillmore on the 6th. It was pretty fucking awesome. Because of other stuff going on, we could only stay in SF for the one day (fly out in morning > concert > sleep > fly back to SLC) so it was a bit of a packed day but we managed two meals in J-Town and had a really good time. My first time into SF, actually. Been to the airport a couple times but that was it. The concert started at 9:00p so we showed up around 7:00p and got in back of a pretty long line full of fangirls. Some scary asian girl was dressed like Hyde and singing in a low voice and it was fucking frightening.
Got in and got hella close, probably about 10 feet from the stage. The opening band was called "Black List Club" and they were actually pretty good. Hyde came out around 10:00p and opened with Jesus Christ (big surprise there, that song just screams "opener") and played for over an hour. I was glad that the set-list wasn't too Faith-heavy (as much as I like Faith, I wanted to hear 666 even more). I thought the set-list was well balanced and amongst Hyde's engrish and typical antics it made for a very enjoyable night. Hyde busted out the accoustic for Horizon but I wish they would have played Mission cause it is one of my favorites. But I wasn't about to get hung up over one song ;o
Next order of business: asian movies.
I've been watching a lot of these with a friend lately so I figured I might as well post about them incase people are interested. In no particular order:
Battle Royale - THUMBS UP. Middle schoolers killing eachother. Everyone knows this one, I don't think I need to go into any detail.
Battle Royale 2 - THUMBS UP. This one gets a lot of hate from BR fans but I think it has enough redeeming qualities to make it worth watching (and enjoying). But it sure does have its plot holes and fucked up moments.
Chakushin Ari (One Missed Call) - THUMBS UP. People receive phone-calls with a creepy ring-tone that fortell their own deaths. Entertaining as far as J-Horror goes.
Chakushin Ari 2 (One Missed Call 2) - THUMBS UP. Really enjoyed this one, although it wasn't very scary at all. More like a J-Drama-Horror. The ending was pretty standard for this kinda movie but pissed me off, I'm too much of a romantic :<
Ju-On - THUMBS UP. Maybe the best J-Horror movie I've seen. Even though I thought the english release of "The Grudge" was good, this was way better.
Kairo (Pulse) - THUMBS DOWN. Too convoluted for its own good and the ending was just lol-worthy. Promising start but turns into a major flop.
Audition - THUMBS DOWN. This movie is fucked up. I'm sure anyone who is into asian movies has either seen or heard of this one. 3/4ths romance, 1/4th fucked up torture. "Kiri kiri kiri."
Tae Guk Gi - THUMBS UP. War drama about two brothers who are drafted. I don't even really like war movies but this movie is damn good. Love the drama. Watch it.
Ong Bak - THUMBS UP. Very good martial arts movie with a decent story and good fight scenes. Starts out a bit slow but it picks up.
A Tale of Two Sisters - THUMBS DOWN. This one falls into the typical problem many Asian horror movies have, which is the whole "lets make it so fucking confusing that people will think there is some deep and hidden meaning here." No good.
The Returner - THUMBS UP. A girl has to come back from the future to prevent the world from ending (sounds like The Terminator!). Such a great Japanese movie. WATCH IT. "Daggra!?"
R-Point - THUMBS DOWN. Military men sent to look for their comrades who dissapeared 6 months prior. Doesn't make sense. Tries to portray a deeper meaning (I think?) but fails hard. Watch it for the worst American acting ever, the black dude. You'll see who I mean.
Sex is Zero - THUMBS UP. American Pie Korean style. Incredibly over the top and much more nudity than it needs but this movie is really funny and has a dramatic twist near the end that actually doesn't suck.
Koma - THUMBS UP. Chinese movie about kidney thieves. Typical ending, should have seen it coming but was oh-so-hoping otherwise. The romantic in me, again :< Good movie though.
Bu-Su (The Booth) - THUMBS UP. A J-Horror movie that actually contains almost no horror at all. Maybe too slow-moving for some but I actually really enjoyed this movie.
More will be added as they are watched.