|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 18, 2010 20:41:11 GMT -5
Actually, most of my students were more likely to draw poop on the board. Japanese kids always draw it looking like a softserve ice cream for some reason.
OK, I'll hold of Sanrio Puroland, though I ended up going there not once but twice . . .
. . . the cuteness . . .
. . . the cuteness . . .
*sits quivering in his space pod*
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 18, 2010 21:18:40 GMT -5
^^^"dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum." <FYI: That's my rendition of Also Sprach Zarathustra. Kinda weak, huh?
Aw, you had to mention the cuteness, so: I bit. The word Sanrio should have prepared me for what I was about to find. It didn't. It looks so, um, sugary. I think I'd rather visit Sanrio Puroland then Disneyland, though. I'd end up in jail there, complaining too much about how Bugs Bunny is a way better cartoon character then Mickey Mouse.
Great idea to hold off until later. It's building the tension really well. Now, I'm dying to know what you where going to do.
"Dear God, please don't let it be as disappointing as page 71 in The Brand New Monty Python Papperbok. What a let down that was. Lead Ijon towards a better path. Amen."
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 19, 2010 20:17:39 GMT -5
Heh heh, my wife really liked the place. I guess it'd be a tease if I didn't give my report at some point now, but unless you see it with your own eyes it may indeed be a bit page 71.
I did find another interesting drama on YouTube, probably worth posting about. I also watched "Men of the Yamato" last night and have partially written up some thoughts on it, but tonight I'm pretty shagged and fagged and fashed and doubt I'll get around to it. Thinking back to what you were saying about Ore Kimi it did look a bit . . . er . . . "hariuddo."
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 20, 2010 9:24:00 GMT -5
I caught 「男たちの大和」( Otokotachi no Yamato, or "Men of the Yamato") on asianrice the other night. This was a big blockbuster in Japan though I didn't catch it there. Just as well, between the guy speech, West Japanese kansai-ben and such I couldn't have followed it very well without subs. The film clearly aims to be a Japanese Private Ryan, and that's a pretty good comparison. For myself though, I gave Ryan more points for what it set out to do than what it achieved, and my reaction to Yamato is similarly ambivalent. The film pointedly has nothing to say on the subject of Japanese imperialism. On the one hand I can see the point of this, given that the young men the film seeks to honor had little say in the matter, but as I noted in the Ore Tachi remarks the situation today is such that not taking a position on this is -- in a sense -- a position all its own. I can certainly see why Ishihara felt that a right-wing response was needed, however. The film by no means embraces the bushido spirit of the war years. In fact it takes a view reminiscent of Admiral Ohnishi's that perhaps it was braver to endure defeat so as to rebuild rather than to go out in a blaze of glory. There's a point where one character even ponders whether Japan may learn some things from defeat that it could in no other way. There is a definite "you kids today with your cell phones and your Kitty-chan don't know how soft you have it!" vibe. At a few points it's laid on with a trowel, but I think it's true enough and can understand that. I remember a letter to the editor in the Japan Times from an older gentleman, writing that it was painful for him to see kids throwing good food in the trash as he could remember his family combing roadsides for edible weeds. So far I've said little about the film itself, and partly that's because for most of it's length it wasn't really engaging me. The characters in the main, wartime story never quite gelled (even Moriwaki, played by actor Sorimachi Takashi whom I usually quite like). There's a lot of cgi on show, but to me this still tends to like watching a really, really, really good cartoon (with an ever increasing number of "reallys"). I do tend to have a pedant's eye for these things (heavy AA guns that don't recoil, bizarre P-47ish aircraft that have no place in a USN formation), and perhaps it's more impressive on a big screen than streaming over a monitor. Through most of the wartime part I was thinking: " Maa-maa." This is a great Japanese word meaning "OK" but in the sense that the taste of processed cheese is OK. The film did retrieve itself somewhat for me when it got into issues of survivor guilt, particularly as this played out in the conclusion of the frame story. One of these days I'll probably watch again and see if that colors the film differently on a seond viewing. I also probably shouldn't have started such a comparitively long film on a night when I was tired. The Japan Times also has a good online review.One could actually attach a lot of irony to the Yamato story, given that the kanji of her name literally mean "great peace," while her construction marked Japan's secret abrogation of the interwar naval arms limitation treaty system. What's more, in strategic terms these super-battleships were big and expensive knives brought to a gunfight of a carrier war. Getting into that would have been distracting (and potentially radioactive) for the tribute the film-makers were trying for so I can see why they didn't touch it, but it would be interesting to see someday. So in the end I'm glad I caught the film and will probably take another look one of these days. I'd say it's worth the time of anyone interested in the topic or just curious to see how it's treated in modern Japanese cinema, but otherwise I wouldn't put it on any "must-see" lists. Edit: Don't know why I didn't think to add the trailer:
|
|
|
Post by spackle on Mar 20, 2010 19:23:13 GMT -5
Actually, most of my students were more likely to draw poop on the board. Japanese kids always draw it looking like a softserve ice cream for some reason. Something jolted in my memory when I first read this, but it has only just now surfaced. Poop that looks like soft serve ice cream... and talks! From a Japanese film, Twilight of the Cockroaches... a combination of live action and cell animation. Anybody seen it? I looked on youtube for a clip of the chattering doo, but didn't find one. There is a picture here, but only visit the page if you don't mind lots of poopie pics. It's most of the way down the page. I always thought that was a funny shape for poo.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 20, 2010 22:26:26 GMT -5
Spackle, that was really disgusting. Thanks! All through the trailer, this kept running through my mind: Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer presents a film be Michael Bay. With executive producer James Cameron...generic, generic, generic. Has the whole world gone generic? I guess everyone loves the icing now and forgets the cake inside. CGI is a such a cheat. Remember the days when they built models that worked and actually hired extra's to fill the screen with? What would Lawrence Of Arabia, Ran, Ben-Hur(both versions), hell, even Spartacus look like today? Answer: Gladiator, 300, Spartans. Yuck! And thanks for the Baron Prasil recommendation. I enjoyed it. PS: Secretly, I really liked page 71. It has Eric Idle written all over it. (Not the page! The style.)
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 21, 2010 2:40:35 GMT -5
There is a picture here, but only visit the page if you don't mind lots of poopie pics. Yup, that's the look. At the risk of being too informative, when I was on a Japanese diet that probably wasn't a bad representation. And thanks for the Baron Prasil recommendation. I enjoyed it. I thought you would. I saw that movie as a kid and spent decades trying to track it down. I also got to see Zeman's Fabulous World of Jules Verne once in Czech with Japanese subtitles, and even through that barrier it was marvelous. Heh heh, so you had the paperbok? Too bad, the bok has a racy picture under the dust jacket.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 21, 2010 4:04:18 GMT -5
There is a picture here, but only visit the page if you don't mind lots of poopie pics. Yup, that's the look. At the risk of being too informative, when I was on a Japanese diet that probably wasn't a bad representation. And thanks for the Baron Prasil recommendation. I enjoyed it. I thought you would. I saw that movie as a kid and spent decades trying to track it down. I also got to see Zeman's Fabulous World of Jules Verne once in Czech with Japanese subtitles, and even through that barrier it was marvelous. Heh heh, so you had the paperbok? Too bad, the bok has a racy picture under the dust jacket. Yep, too informative. I have to go search for that other Zemen's movie, now. I feel the same way I did when I first discovered Lotte Reiniger on TCM's Silent Sunday about 5 years ago. I want more, more, more. It's not often in film that you discover great, imaginative, classic fairy tales story telling, childlike wonder of the world, directors. Whew! That was hard to say. Yea, I only have the fake fingerprint smudges part of the cover. I bought it as a 2-pack with 'Monty Python's Big Red Book' which, of course, is blue. I do have the racy picture that was under the dust jacket, though. In 'The Instant Monty Python Cd Collection' box set from the mid 90's, the book inside the box had the, ahem, t--s' n b--s picture. 'Are you still a verger?' They put the black bands on the picture perfectly, didn't they??!! I wonder why the books sellers were mad? Hehe...
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 21, 2010 11:26:55 GMT -5
For a long time the only available edition of Baron Prásil that I could find was a Japanese release. I really wanted to get it for Yuuto, but unfortunately I found that it seems to only have a Czech soundtrack and subtitles. Too bad, as I can say from experience that it's simply magical to see that film as a child.
I think you've moved me to haul the Python books out again. It's been a while. I'm wondering if I should take a brief break from the Japonica anyway. I had a dream the other night that ended with my waking up in a delivery room and realizing that I'd just been born as a Japanese baby . . .
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 21, 2010 22:16:08 GMT -5
I had a dream the other night that ended with my waking up in a delivery room and realizing that I'd just been born as a Japanese baby . . . ....and seeing that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are your new parents? I have the same nightmare! I understand the break. I do the same thing with MST3K. I go 3-4 weeks at times without watching a single episode. It's just to freshen the palette, so to speak.
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 22, 2010 8:07:21 GMT -5
It might be a good idea to pace it as well so as not to do all the interesting stuff up front, though there's so much out there that may never be a problem.
Thankfully I have yet to dream about Tom Cruise. I might do an entry flagellating The Last Samurai one of these days but to do it right I'd have to watch it again, and that probably would give me nightmares.
I'll have a bit more free time again after today and should be able to put something interesting together. By the way, your finding Prásil on YouTube got me to looking there, and I found a trailer for a remastered Japanese Theatrical release. I may just be able to find a Japanese dub after all.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 23, 2010 1:52:39 GMT -5
It might be a good idea to pace it as well so as not to do all the interesting stuff up front, though there's so much out there that may never be a problem. Thankfully I have yet to dream about Tom Cruise. I might do an entry flagellating The Last Samurai one of these days but to do it right I'd have to watch it again, and that probably would give me nightmares. I'll have a bit more free time again after today and should be able to put something interesting together. By the way, your finding Prásil on YouTube got me to looking there, and I found a trailer for a remastered Japanese Theatrical release. I may just be able to find a Japanese dub after all. When The Last Samurai was first released, all my friends were telling me to see it, and that I'd like it because I watched 'Japanese' films. (Why they thought that connected in some way is beyond me. A film about Samurai and Japanese. Mark will like it! ) They even knew I disliked Tom Cruise. The only movie I own with him in it is Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and Nicole Kidman out acts him by a million miles. I asked them what the heck did Hollywood know about Samurai and Japanese culture in the first place to make me want to watch it?...I waited and watched my parents DVD of it instead....now I'm scarred for life. I hope you do find the Japanese dub of Baron Prasil. The one I saw was in Russian. I was about to write Czechoslovakian, but realized they were occupied at the time, so they spoke Russian. Or have they always spoken Russian?
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 23, 2010 9:59:31 GMT -5
Hmm, I think Czech is a related language but still distinct (it don't think it uses Cyrillic for instance). From what I recollect of their history the Slovak side of the country thought of itself as a bit more Slavic than the Czech side, but I'm far from clear on it all.
Speaking of Czech movies, have you seen Dark Blue World? Ebert passed it off as just a Pearl Harbor knock-off, but I thought it had a lot more going for it. It's the story of some of their expat pilots who flew for the RAF during the war and were rewarded by going to the Gulag afterward.
Last Samurai is a sticky one for me. My wife gave me the two-disc edition, and so while I was underwhelmed from the first I was trying not to show it too much. But then I mentioned that in an e-mail to a buddy in Japan who's a nidan level kendoist, and it turned out that he just worshiped the film over obscure little points of technique that it got right. I figured that was worth another look, but for me it just got worse each time. It all ended up being one of those uncomfortable arguments that you wonder how you got into in the first place.
To give Cruise his due, this guy said his sword technique is quite good, and my wife says his Japanese dialogue is well delivered. Even she was looking askance at the scene where he somehow magically knows how to properly puts on the clothes they lay out for him though. It's far from obvious and she's taken actual classes in it.
Oh dear, I'm backing into a review, aren't I? Let me just cap it by scotching the claim you sometimes hear that Cruise "learned Japanese" for this film. I've seen him on Japanese TV and he demonstrates zero comprehension, while the Japanese words that pop up in his English are mispronounced in ways that shouldn't happen after the first day in 1A.
Heh heh . . . I dread the idea of her coming to visit and asking to watch it again.
|
|
|
Post by afriendlychicken on Mar 23, 2010 20:03:33 GMT -5
Those were kind of strange reasons to like a movie. I love Astronomy and science. I don't 'like' a film just because they had the science right. Just take a look at some of the films MST3K did? Most of the science is really bad but, when they did get it right, it didn't make that movie any better. (BTW: J/M & the bots? Fomalhaut and Betelgeuse are real star names. The film makers didn't make them up.) They should be glad no film ever used the star name Zubenelgenubi. In fact, I prefer films when they represent the dream state and dream logic. All good directors films are like that, even Ingmar Bergman. I've never even heard of Dark Blue World. I'll look it up and see what I find. I agree on Japanese word pronunciations. Most people can't even say Karaoke right. It's not 'Car oak e', TV's Frank! I believe it's, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, 'ka da oh key'. If you can't say the words right, don't try. Or at least ask first. It's just embarrassing. And sushi has to have rice to be sushi! If it's just raw fish, it's sashimi. You should hear the Hawaiian words that tourist's butcher. You don't pronounce Aloe 'Ah low', it's 'Ah lo eh'. There's no silent letters in the Hawaiian language. And I live in 'He lo', not 'High low'. My favorite is Likelike. It's pronounced 'lee kay lee kay, not 'like like'! Want me to borrow your Last Samurai and accidentally lose it? It could solve your problem.
|
|
|
Post by caucasoididiot on Mar 23, 2010 22:08:29 GMT -5
Yeah, that was kind of my reaction too. At least my wife thinks Tom Cruise is really cool, which I find hard to fathom but makes it understandable why she'd like the movie.
Heh heh, thanks for the offer to "disappear" it, but I'm afraid she'd see through that. I should maybe put a Mission: Impossible type destruct charge in it though, just for Yuuto's sake! (^_^)
Thanks on "He-low." It's an impossible task to learn them all, but I always like to learn the right way to pronounce things. French is still a nightmare for me.
Your pronunciation of karaoke looks about right, unless you're thinking "key" like "lock & key." An "e" in Japanese always sounds like the vowel in "red" (except when blending with "i", as in Miyazaki's Mei whose name sounds just like "may").
It sounds like Hawaiian and Japanese resemble each other in not having silent vowels. Japanese does have some that get elided over though, like suki (liking) which gets elided to s'ki. There's also really nothing in English quite like the Japanese "r." I use a sort of Germanic rolled "r" when I speak it, but it can also sound like "d" or even "l" sometimes.
I remember the first time I saw Rollerball after having been in Japan. I was quite getting into it until the scene where the "Japanese" crowd is chanting: "To-ki-o! To-ki-o!" when it's really: "To-kyo! To-kyo!" It sort of broke the mood, but returning to it later I was able to take it in stride.
Heh heh . . . there was a game that I used to use as a class warmup after it just sort of happened while out with some of my wife's friends. I pronounced a number of Japanese words in a typical American fashion and they tried to guess what they were. I did use Frank's "karoki" but for the most part didn't fudge. "Nikon" took forever for them to work out, and it was rare for anyone to figure out "kirin."
Edit: Japanese also tends to bite off final "i", "u" or "o" sounds. One you can hear in a lot of films is yoshi, an interjection meaning "that's good." I don't remember ever hearing it pronounced other than yosh'.
|
|