(via /flim)

Just watched this “The Day the Earth Stood Still” trailer. Another Keanu Reeves film,  He is a mysterious man from another world to the Earth in the movie.

The VFX(Visual Special Effect) is quite cool, which is produced by Weta Digital, a New Zealand’s premier visual effects company, which was working on special effects of Lord of the Ring, X-men: The last stand, King Kong etc. Check it out!

Time files! The first season of Sex and the City at HBO is 1998 June. and it’s already 2008 June. It’s 10 years time. For those women who are in their early twenties, like me, it’s already their late twenties. When I was inside AMC and watching the movie, I have a feeling that I travelled back time. I laughed, cried and “wow” with all the audience sat beside me. There is just connection between all of us. Our distant is so closed that I have never experienced it before. We all feel something from this movie/TV series. So, I ant to say that the show is MORE than sex. It is one of the reason why it is successful.

I especially like the Charlie Ross’ interview with Sarah Jessica Parker and Micheal Patrick King’s interview(the 1st video at the bottom). Micheal Patrick King explained that it is a movie about “evolution”, “how a 20 something gal became 40 something women”. That’s also the reason why they bring in Jennifer Hodson, as they need somebody who can bring in again twenties something gal’s point of view. How we grow over time? When we look back? What do we get now?

You can notice that there are scenes show that Carrie did not know how to do SMS/text, how to use iPhone, how to make her website well . The society changes, so the generation changes. When we all get old, being washed out by the complicated world, certian part of us just fossilized. The older we are, the more we know about our world, we are less open for change and uncertainy because we have more burden from the past. We have more than ourselves to think of. And our energy just erased by the increasingly materistic world.

That’s the reason why Louis(Jennifer Hodson) still have dream to pursue and energy and brave to face the challenge in front of her no matter what. It is what we dare to do when we are still young; when money and materials count less at that time; when dreams still have the hope to come true.

For Carrie, who represents a mature women turing to her forties, as Sarah Jessica Parker said it is very hard for Carrie to face disappointment from the unexpected disappear of BIG. Carrie “has to realise the complexity and learn how to forgive people that she has invested for a numerous amount. And understand what she needs to do next”. 

No matter “Twenties, Thirties, Fourties, Fifties , enjoy yourself, but be yourself, don’t be anybody else…don’t let the label define you, whether be your clothing or title like bride, or groom, husband or wife.” That’s one of the main theme of this comeback movie as Micheal Patrick King said. Yes, the movie got sponsored for all the top brands, fashions etc. Kinda contradict somehow BUT it also reflected modern women’s sensation and obsession towards clothes, shoes and their shapes which in fact comes from the society’s value. Vivian Westwood and Louis Vuitton’s names did repeat three times or more.

As a woman, I absolutely agreed what Sarah said, “it’s just about love, and friendship, and wanting to be yourself and how do you figure out what it is and how do you make mistakes that you can look and say that’s perfectly alright I made that mistake.” Especially, in the Chinese soceity, I means in certain apsect, not all, we are trained to play safe, to keep status quo, not taking challenge because taking risk to take something new means a possibility of having mistakes and failure. However, the best training in our life is to learn a lesson from our “mistakes”. Have you counted how many “I am sorry” in the movie? To learn how to forgive people is also coming from “mistakes”.

Charlie Ross asked a very insteresting question: “Does this movie reinforce people’s fairy tales aspiration?” It’s an happy ending movie. But most of the time, it is not true in the real world.

Micheal Patrick King anwered “No, it’s not. I would be happy if you said that this movie is happy ever after for yourself.” He knew that people queried “Is that man’s problem or woman’s problem?” For him, “it’s the society as a villain” He is right, even nowadays, in a very modern society, ”Smart Smart Smart Successful woman still somewhere inside them feel a little bit bad because either their divorce, some , I am not speaking general term, or they never get married, or they adopt their child verus giving birth naturally, or they are never married, or they are suddenly alone and they are fifty, so the reality is none of this exist, if the society doesn’t say what is supposed to be happened that a man meets a woman at the certain age, they get married and live, they have children, and then they live together forever.”

So, Sarah JP, as one of the producer, commented that “this movie said the contentment must be defined by yourself. (It can be traditional), what is my idea of contentment doesn’t have to be yours, doesn’t have to be here, doesn’t have to be anybody else. That is a great place that you arrive at at this particular age of woman. They all arrive there in their own way. It’s not an accident, it’s life. It’s we all hope that we are keep going.” All of the 4 women arrived at their own place. What about you? Have you arrive your place? What about myself?

Another question which most of us want know is “why most women can identify themselves from the 4 characters”? I like what Kim Cattrall answered at the chuckthemovieguy interview. 

“4 single/seperate women who all together made up one complete woman, so when any situation, when any time of the day or year, part of the year, you could look at these characters and you can say why, I understand that because they are part of a complete woman, so you can have a morning like Charlotte, and the afternoon like Miranda, and an evening like Samantha, you can relate all of these women and how they deal.”

I seldome wrote long post, anyway should end here. Below are two more movie posters from the movies, I love the very top one the most, Below are lots of interviews about the movie. Enjoy watching!

I also linked 2 critics which are A, A-, C, and D which are quite interesting:

San Francisco Chronicle, Mick LaSalle (Average Grade A)
Chicago Tribune, Jessica Reaves (Average Grade A-)
Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert (Average Grade C)
New York Times, Manohla Dargis (Average Grade D)

P.S. By the way, I watched all the interivew, and suddenly found that Kristin Davis(Charlotte) represented Oxfam visiting Afarica to help people. David letterman asked her “what Oxfam means?” and she can answer it immediately. I got friend working at Oxfam…just found this piece of news quite attract my attention.

Charlie Rose - Sarach Jessica Parker & Michael Patrick King interview (1st 40mins)

Producer Michael Patrick King interview @ chuckthemovieguy

Sex and the City, The Fashion Behind the Movie

Kim Cattrall interview @ chuckthemovieguy

Cynthia Nixon interview  @ chuckthemovieguy

Sarah Jessica Parker interview @ chuckthemovieguy

Kristen Davis interview @ chuckthemovieguy

Marie Claire TV: Kim Cattrall interview

Marie Claire TV: Cynthia Nixon interview

Marie Claire TV: Kristin Davis interview

Marie Claire TV: Sarah Jessica Parker

Kristin Davis on Letterman May 22 part 1/2

Kristin Davis on Letterman May 22 part 2/2

Sarah Jessica Parker on Letterman May 22 part 1/2

Sarah Jessica Parker on Letterman May 22 part 2/2

Kristin Davis/Sex & the City Movie Premiere - Today Show
 

Recently I catched up with a Japanese drama “Last Friend” (11 episodes in total). Somehow I started watching it because of “Ueno Juri ” (Nodame from Nodame Cantabile). She is really a very versatile actress. You just cannot see Nodame from “Ruka” - the closeted motorcorss racer in love with her high school girl friend.

Yes! Ueno Juri here reminds me of Yoon Eun Hye at Coffee Prince, who transform from a princess(Goong) to a “dandy boy” gal. Another similar theme across these two dramas (last friends vs. Coffee Prince) is about the new generation’s quest towards “gender identity”‘ “transgender”, “queer”, and “love” in these two supposingly a very traditional soceity superficially.

For me, Last Friends got a lot of tensions between each characters and the atmosphere is depicted as dark and sad, while Coffee Prince is in a more humourous way. Worth mentioned, the Opening theme video(below) with Utada Hikaru’s Prisoner of Love is very impressive and very memorable. This one-minute video tells the whole story vividly and their agony. (below)

Opening Theme Song

Another selling point is that the screenwriter of this tv series is Asano Taeko who also wrote Love Generation, Nana(Movie) & Nana2(Movie).

Episode 1(video)
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/NwmyUBHPsTw/

Synopsis (via d-addicts)Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru’s mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru’s in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life. –jade_frost

Cast

Nagasawa Masami as Aida Michiru (Rei from Proposal Daisakusen)
Ueno Juri as Kishimoto Ruka (Nodame from Nodame Cantabile)
Eita as Mizushima Takeru (Mine from Nodame Cantabile)
Nishikido Ryo as Oikawa Sosuke (member of NEWS and Kanjani8, Haruto from One Litre of Tears)
Mizukawa Asami as Takigawa Eri (Kiyora from Nodame Cantabile)
Yamazaki Shigenori as Ogura Tomohiko (From Proposal Daisakusen)
Nishihara Aki as Hiratsuka Reina (From Dance Drill)
Ranka Rea (蘭香レア) as Sanda Sayuri
Hirano Sayaka (平野早香) as Okabe Mayumi
Baisho Mitsuko as Aida Chinatsu

The last shot of this season Finale is that Betty walking out of her family’s home in Queens (pictured above). Can you see Betty ? She is going to make the choice, marry Henry and moved to Tucson?  Or go to Rome with Gio?(I like Gio more, he’s cute) Or Neither? Cliffhang! It’s just like forever for me to wait for the new season coming out at Sept hopefully….

Anyway, before commenting the storyline, I have to say the rythym, cinematography, the transition between scenes and the music arrangement of this very last episode of season 2 REALLY ROCKS! My favorite moment is the very last 3 minutes featuring Madonna’s Jump song (OK, I know, I know, the song before Jump is also Madonna’s Hand Candy when Naomi Campbell coming out for the softball game). Is the style changed solely because of the staff change after the writer strike? If you follow through Ugly Betty, you notice the difference before and after. BUT all of us still love BETTY, it’s still our favorite show!

P.S. Is it a bit Madonna overload? adverstising stuff? Or it is really the case that Betty wants to get Madonna’s autograph HardCandy CD for Justin’s Birthday! Modonna, are you watching Ugly Betty?

Recap of the last section of Ugly Betty Season 2 Finale

The theme of this episode which is also the contintuity of the upcoming new season, is the quest of Betty’s life journey. Are we going to archive what we want by playing safe for our work, for our love or for our life? Just like what Claire Meade(Judith Light) said to Betty at the beginning part. Somehow, we just cannot anticipate all the possibility in our life and get hold of what we want. People changes and life is fragile. Are we going to start taking some risk from now? Including me who always try to play safe?

What’s next? There is a report at TVSquad that Ugly Betty is moving from LA to New York for shooting in the new season and make it more romantic, Sex and the City way (OMG, maybe that why the the recent horse-drawn carriage scene of Betty and Gio looks so familar ) . Hmmmm…..I am Sex and the City fan, but I hope that they will make it more BETTY WAY.

(via /Film)

I am not an action movie fan. But I really love this red band “Wanted” trailer, which shows incredible cinematography, special effects and action sequence inside the movie.

The first 15 secs is already very impressive, stunning vfx : a flying bullet from a hitman shooting to the sky, passing through the train, unsteady flying speed of the bullet after dropping its shell off the screen. When camera zooms back to the spinning bullet front with detailed pattern, camera moves to the bullet back surface with a reflect of the sunset city skyline, in a sec, the bullet hits the back of a guy’s head passing through the forehead, a slow motion again which focus on the bullet and the blood spilt freeze. Wow!

Check it out!

P.S. Angelina Jolie is sexy but just too skiny inside this movie.

Russian Red Band Trailor:

English Trailor: