Of work, 誰かが私にキスをした, and miscellaneity
Hm, I think I need cute Horikita Maki icons... They're all from S lol.
ANYWAY. The point of this post is to tell you guys that I'm... not exactly having the most fun times at work, but I'm not thinking it's the worst decision I have ever made in the twenty-or-so years I have ever existed in this planet (lol). I've been told that I'm learning pretty fast (I pride in that, lol but I take the humble route and thank them for their compliments) but I still want to go further and do something that would really contribute to the unit.
Blame it on the competitive, innovative-and-trying-to-be-creative streak in me.
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誰かが私にキスをした ～Ｍｅｍｏｉｒｓ ｏｆ ａ Ｔｅｅｎａｇｅ Ａｍｎｅｓｉａｃ～ has been uploaded somewhere (and subbed? I haven't watched it with subs yet) and, the good Maki fan that I am, I didn't buy the DVD. |D LOL. It's just that I'm broke and idek why I spend so much money on JE when in real life I'm more of a Horikita Maki fan than the sparkly boys of my youth. :\ Hmm, anyway. I've seen it, and I have many things I'd like to say about it.
First off, it's a chic flick. Yeah, I bet you're going to roll your eyes at that -- I did too, because I'm not really fond of chic flicks. At least, the Hollywood/local chic flicks.
(There's this one local romantic story I watched in the theatres that garnered all praises from everyone in my previous office that I decided to watch, and in the end I felt like I've wasted money and two hours of my life seeing it in the movie house. When I told them that it was pretty bleh, I earned their wrath. Lol so sue me for being so brutally honest.)
But hey, I watched Koizora and before I realised it, sometime during the film the tears had already started running and by the end of the movie I was already reduced to a bawling, hiccuping little girl who got her teddy taken away from her.
So to get the point across, to me there's just something refreshing and more unique to Japanese/Korean chic flicks, that even if I've sworn off watching chic flicks, movies like these that come from the two East Asian monstrosity still keep me hooked. Like DareKiss, Koizora, KimiTodo and TadaKimi (lol what is with Japan and their namesquishes, really), and My Sassy Girl, Windstruck, The Classic and Eraser in My Head/A Moment to Remember from SoKor.
If you still didn't know, DareKiss is the Japanese movie adaptation of this YA lit book written by Gabrielle Zevin, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. I am happy that the movie stuck to the book 95% of the time, but then I realised, as S (calledinvain ) had pointed out, that the screenwriter was Ms. Zevin herself. xD
If you haven't read the book, it's about a girl who loses her memory of the last four years of her life due to an accident (or was it?) when she fell down the stairs in front of their school. It follows her life as an amnesiac, and how she finds love, a lost love, a new love, and everything else in between, like the typical high school girl would during her last months in high school, while trying to remember. And in the process, finding a new personality that is different from who she really was before.
The lead character (Naomi) was a selfish brat who pretty much is a superwoman who does tennis, is called Chief for being the co-editor of their yearbook with her longstanding BFF Will (Mirai in the movie, played by Tegoshi) and ends up being in the theatre production because she's just awesome that way. Oh and did I mention that she's an amnesiac who gets to be kissed by three supposedly hot guys in her high school? Now that's high school for you, folks. Very eventful.
(To be fair though, I'm not from an American high school so if anyone here has been to an American high school, kindly correct my supposedly sarcastic commentary and put down my proverbial cynical eyebrow raised here, because I cannot imagine that much drama happening around Little Ms Beauty and Brains. I mean I had my own drama back then, but really now. Let's be realistic.)
But you see, that's the thing -- the story may have been exaggerated because of the accident factored into the equation that resulted to Naomi's memory loss, and Naomi's superwoman traits, but her feelings, her thoughts, and her running commentary in the entirety of the novel was so spot-on that I as a reader felt like I was the one experiencing the same things all over again she was discovering and feeling. Plus I have to give props to Ms. Zevin for her non-too-exaggerated methods of putting in the pangs of headache that came with remembering, if there was any.
And that also leads me to say something about the cast. XD I think the cast did very well in their execution of the characters they needed to portray. And that's saying something because I have an utter dislike for Tegoshi Yuya (I don't like the smarmy git). But during the movie, I may have fallen in love with his character -- he pulled off his role as Hasegawa Mirai very well. Now if he keeps on dressing up in all those 50's inspired suits that looked like he got it from his grandfather's treasure chest and would stop acting like an all-important diva in NEWS... I may just like him a little more xD
Matsuyama Ken'ichi is a tried-and-tested specimen for every weird-guy-role that exists in Japanese Entertainment, and this is no exception. He's not weird in it per se, but he's that tortured, emotionally stunted and psychologically imbalanced soul that every high school girl dreams of trying to alleviate the pain of (too bad I'm way past being high school, MatsuKen, or else I'd have fallen for your character). Plus, HE LOOKS LIKE NINO. I am so serious! The facial shape, the moles on their faces, the pale skin, the droopy eyes, even their acting mannerisms like the small smirks and sideward glances are almost uncannily the same. o___0 Except of course, he's like, a taller version of Neeners Peeners. |D
Sure, I'm a biased Horikita Maki fan through and through, and I wouldn't say this is her best movie evarrrr, but she did exceptionally well in this movie more than she did in, hm, say, Kurosagi the Movie (barely there, I tell you! And to think she's a major character in the manga/drama too, wtf TBS). She had to dumb down her speech and attitude, so to speak, because as we're all aware, Japan has a penchant for casting idols in their mid-to-late-twenties into high school dramas/movies. (Oh wait. This cast was selected specifically by Hans Canosa.) But that aside, the faces she made, subtle expressions of distaste, juvenile delinquency and whatnot, was done very well that to the unknowing audience she may pass off as a teenage high school girl. And that's also saying something because almost 40% of her dialogue is in English. Her boyfriend, Ace Zuckerman *gigglesnorts at the funny surname* is played by Anton Yelchin, so all their interactions were in English. (And I facepalm every time I hear Anton speak in Japanese. Like DUDE, more effort into learning the language please?)
Which brings me to the next issue I'll be raising: the cross-culture interaction and dialogue switch. To the general audience, this makes them uncomfortable and feel awkward, because you hear a lot of accented English made by the Japanese and a lot of fail Japanese made by Ace Zuckerman *snorts* and the others. But I think that's part of the realism, the charm of the movie: they're studying in an International School, and because not everyone can communicate fluently in English or Japanese, they make do with what they know and try to express themselves using that. Take for example, Tegoshi's English. "I am so piiiiiiissed!" (okay, Tegoshi, were you referring to Yamapi for some reason, or were you just really dying to go to the loo, hmm?), he says, and his English was heavily accented, but not to the point that you cannot understand him (yes, I'm eying your 'English' in Kurosagi, Yamapi). MatsuKen's was barely there too, since he didn't really have a lot of interaction with the Zuckerman *gigglesnorts*. Maki on the other hand, switched from British to American English halfway, and in a way, I find it cute. Especially when she said: "I think we need some time off... You know, give my hair time to grow?" which if you knew the context in which this has been said, would crack you up because she just had a disappointed pouty look before turning sarcastic.
So anyway, like I've stated earlier, it's not Maki's best movie, but I won't say it was a complete waste of time -- I think that the film is experimental, and the nuances, the feelings and emotions that it evoked from me were memorable. Let's not talk about the CG, because I cannot for the life of me imagine why it ended that way when the screening in cinemas had been pushed back to give way to the movie editing. >\ But the photos, the scrapbook-like tosses in the air of photos and portraits were interesting.
I'd recommend this movie to all the hopeless romantics out there, and to those that need a break from all the srsbzns surrounding them. It didn't leave me crying in its wake; but rather, it made me feel lighter, happier, though not necessarily in love. LOL.
And before I wrap it up, can I just say? It wasn't DareKiss for nothing. ;) This movie has got to have the sweetest kissing scenes I've seen as of late in all the movies, dramas and whatevs I've seen. L-Let's not include any kiss that Tegoshi did in this though. Dx Oh, the Mighty Hand of JE, all powerful and encompassing!
(And hah, sorry Maki haters, Maki can so kiss, as seen in this movie and in Innocent Love, so you better blame JE for the lame kiss between Sho and Maki in Kabachi. Oh and Nino? Please kiss Maki properly in Ohoku. Please. Because the image of Mizuno's supposed playboy attitude would go to waste if the kiss between you both would be so shabby.)
誰かが私にキスをした： ★★★★☆
Not the best movie, but it's really memorable and induces nostalgia; plus it's the best cure to a rainy day limbo. Makes you go "Ah, seishun da na~" XD
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I just changed my layout! You can probably ignore the new header/banner because I'm notorious for having no Photoshop skillz anyway. |D And I had too much fun with pastel colours and those two up there so yeah. XD
The title comes from Tackey's song, 愛・革命, which I took a few liberties of changing the word order of. ^^
So yeaaaay? frostbittenlove 私のブログレイアウトどうだ？
/shameless pimpage
I'll probably do something about my epic profile later. And my linkssss. :D
---
And if you guys are still not aware, I'm going to pimp my twitter account |D @aurorasolstice. Tell me if you added me so I can add you back! :) I'm more frequent there so if you need to get in touch with me, that's the best way to do so (yes, not even my phone because my phone's not allowed into my workplace).
Oh and I'm prone to spazzes, just a heads-up. xD
---
How is everyone? I've added quite a few new people the past month and I try my best to visit blogs when I have the time :) I hope you guys are faring well.
And ugh, where's the Northeastern monsoon when I need it :\ It's been so hot today! Dx
I shall go sleep now. :3
ANYWAY. The point of this post is to tell you guys that I'm... not exactly having the most fun times at work, but I'm not thinking it's the worst decision I have ever made in the twenty-or-so years I have ever existed in this planet (lol). I've been told that I'm learning pretty fast (I pride in that, lol but I take the humble route and thank them for their compliments) but I still want to go further and do something that would really contribute to the unit.
Blame it on the competitive, innovative-and-trying-to-be-creative streak in me.
---
誰かが私にキスをした ～Ｍｅｍｏｉｒｓ ｏｆ ａ Ｔｅｅｎａｇｅ Ａｍｎｅｓｉａｃ～ has been uploaded somewhere (and subbed? I haven't watched it with subs yet) and, the good Maki fan that I am, I didn't buy the DVD. |D LOL. It's just that I'm broke and idek why I spend so much money on JE when in real life I'm more of a Horikita Maki fan than the sparkly boys of my youth. :\ Hmm, anyway. I've seen it, and I have many things I'd like to say about it.
First off, it's a chic flick. Yeah, I bet you're going to roll your eyes at that -- I did too, because I'm not really fond of chic flicks. At least, the Hollywood/local chic flicks.
(There's this one local romantic story I watched in the theatres that garnered all praises from everyone in my previous office that I decided to watch, and in the end I felt like I've wasted money and two hours of my life seeing it in the movie house. When I told them that it was pretty bleh, I earned their wrath. Lol so sue me for being so brutally honest.)
But hey, I watched Koizora and before I realised it, sometime during the film the tears had already started running and by the end of the movie I was already reduced to a bawling, hiccuping little girl who got her teddy taken away from her.
So to get the point across, to me there's just something refreshing and more unique to Japanese/Korean chic flicks, that even if I've sworn off watching chic flicks, movies like these that come from the two East Asian monstrosity still keep me hooked. Like DareKiss, Koizora, KimiTodo and TadaKimi (lol what is with Japan and their namesquishes, really), and My Sassy Girl, Windstruck, The Classic and Eraser in My Head/A Moment to Remember from SoKor.
If you still didn't know, DareKiss is the Japanese movie adaptation of this YA lit book written by Gabrielle Zevin, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac. I am happy that the movie stuck to the book 95% of the time, but then I realised, as S (calledinvain ) had pointed out, that the screenwriter was Ms. Zevin herself. xD
If you haven't read the book, it's about a girl who loses her memory of the last four years of her life due to an accident (or was it?) when she fell down the stairs in front of their school. It follows her life as an amnesiac, and how she finds love, a lost love, a new love, and everything else in between, like the typical high school girl would during her last months in high school, while trying to remember. And in the process, finding a new personality that is different from who she really was before.
The lead character (Naomi) was a selfish brat who pretty much is a superwoman who does tennis, is called Chief for being the co-editor of their yearbook with her longstanding BFF Will (Mirai in the movie, played by Tegoshi) and ends up being in the theatre production because she's just awesome that way. Oh and did I mention that she's an amnesiac who gets to be kissed by three supposedly hot guys in her high school? Now that's high school for you, folks. Very eventful.
(To be fair though, I'm not from an American high school so if anyone here has been to an American high school, kindly correct my supposedly sarcastic commentary and put down my proverbial cynical eyebrow raised here, because I cannot imagine that much drama happening around Little Ms Beauty and Brains. I mean I had my own drama back then, but really now. Let's be realistic.)
But you see, that's the thing -- the story may have been exaggerated because of the accident factored into the equation that resulted to Naomi's memory loss, and Naomi's superwoman traits, but her feelings, her thoughts, and her running commentary in the entirety of the novel was so spot-on that I as a reader felt like I was the one experiencing the same things all over again she was discovering and feeling. Plus I have to give props to Ms. Zevin for her non-too-exaggerated methods of putting in the pangs of headache that came with remembering, if there was any.
And that also leads me to say something about the cast. XD I think the cast did very well in their execution of the characters they needed to portray. And that's saying something because I have an utter dislike for Tegoshi Yuya (I don't like the smarmy git). But during the movie, I may have fallen in love with his character -- he pulled off his role as Hasegawa Mirai very well. Now if he keeps on dressing up in all those 50's inspired suits that looked like he got it from his grandfather's treasure chest and would stop acting like an all-important diva in NEWS... I may just like him a little more xD
Matsuyama Ken'ichi is a tried-and-tested specimen for every weird-guy-role that exists in Japanese Entertainment, and this is no exception. He's not weird in it per se, but he's that tortured, emotionally stunted and psychologically imbalanced soul that every high school girl dreams of trying to alleviate the pain of (too bad I'm way past being high school, MatsuKen, or else I'd have fallen for your character). Plus, HE LOOKS LIKE NINO. I am so serious! The facial shape, the moles on their faces, the pale skin, the droopy eyes, even their acting mannerisms like the small smirks and sideward glances are almost uncannily the same. o___0 Except of course, he's like, a taller version of Neeners Peeners. |D
Sure, I'm a biased Horikita Maki fan through and through, and I wouldn't say this is her best movie evarrrr, but she did exceptionally well in this movie more than she did in, hm, say, Kurosagi the Movie (barely there, I tell you! And to think she's a major character in the manga/drama too, wtf TBS). She had to dumb down her speech and attitude, so to speak, because as we're all aware, Japan has a penchant for casting idols in their mid-to-late-twenties into high school dramas/movies. (Oh wait. This cast was selected specifically by Hans Canosa.) But that aside, the faces she made, subtle expressions of distaste, juvenile delinquency and whatnot, was done very well that to the unknowing audience she may pass off as a teenage high school girl. And that's also saying something because almost 40% of her dialogue is in English. Her boyfriend, Ace Zuckerman *gigglesnorts at the funny surname* is played by Anton Yelchin, so all their interactions were in English. (And I facepalm every time I hear Anton speak in Japanese. Like DUDE, more effort into learning the language please?)
Which brings me to the next issue I'll be raising: the cross-culture interaction and dialogue switch. To the general audience, this makes them uncomfortable and feel awkward, because you hear a lot of accented English made by the Japanese and a lot of fail Japanese made by Ace Zuckerman *snorts* and the others. But I think that's part of the realism, the charm of the movie: they're studying in an International School, and because not everyone can communicate fluently in English or Japanese, they make do with what they know and try to express themselves using that. Take for example, Tegoshi's English. "I am so piiiiiiissed!" (okay, Tegoshi, were you referring to Yamapi for some reason, or were you just really dying to go to the loo, hmm?), he says, and his English was heavily accented, but not to the point that you cannot understand him (yes, I'm eying your 'English' in Kurosagi, Yamapi). MatsuKen's was barely there too, since he didn't really have a lot of interaction with the Zuckerman *gigglesnorts*. Maki on the other hand, switched from British to American English halfway, and in a way, I find it cute. Especially when she said: "I think we need some time off... You know, give my hair time to grow?" which if you knew the context in which this has been said, would crack you up because she just had a disappointed pouty look before turning sarcastic.
So anyway, like I've stated earlier, it's not Maki's best movie, but I won't say it was a complete waste of time -- I think that the film is experimental, and the nuances, the feelings and emotions that it evoked from me were memorable. Let's not talk about the CG, because I cannot for the life of me imagine why it ended that way when the screening in cinemas had been pushed back to give way to the movie editing. >\ But the photos, the scrapbook-like tosses in the air of photos and portraits were interesting.
I'd recommend this movie to all the hopeless romantics out there, and to those that need a break from all the srsbzns surrounding them. It didn't leave me crying in its wake; but rather, it made me feel lighter, happier, though not necessarily in love. LOL.
And before I wrap it up, can I just say? It wasn't DareKiss for nothing. ;) This movie has got to have the sweetest kissing scenes I've seen as of late in all the movies, dramas and whatevs I've seen. L-Let's not include any kiss that Tegoshi did in this though. Dx Oh, the Mighty Hand of JE, all powerful and encompassing!
(And hah, sorry Maki haters, Maki can so kiss, as seen in this movie and in Innocent Love, so you better blame JE for the lame kiss between Sho and Maki in Kabachi. Oh and Nino? Please kiss Maki properly in Ohoku. Please. Because the image of Mizuno's supposed playboy attitude would go to waste if the kiss between you both would be so shabby.)
誰かが私にキスをした： ★★★★☆
Not the best movie, but it's really memorable and induces nostalgia; plus it's the best cure to a rainy day limbo. Makes you go "Ah, seishun da na~" XD
---
I just changed my layout! You can probably ignore the new header/banner because I'm notorious for having no Photoshop skillz anyway. |D And I had too much fun with pastel colours and those two up there so yeah. XD
The title comes from Tackey's song, 愛・革命, which I took a few liberties of changing the word order of. ^^
So yeaaaay? frostbittenlove 私のブログレイアウトどうだ？
/shameless pimpage
I'll probably do something about my epic profile later. And my linkssss. :D
---
And if you guys are still not aware, I'm going to pimp my twitter account |D @aurorasolstice. Tell me if you added me so I can add you back! :) I'm more frequent there so if you need to get in touch with me, that's the best way to do so (yes, not even my phone because my phone's not allowed into my workplace).
Oh and I'm prone to spazzes, just a heads-up. xD
---
How is everyone? I've added quite a few new people the past month and I try my best to visit blogs when I have the time :) I hope you guys are faring well.
And ugh, where's the Northeastern monsoon when I need it :\ It's been so hot today! Dx
I shall go sleep now. :3