Better Luck Tommarow (2002)

From the get-co, I'm half asian.

With all the crap movies that would stink up a toilet, it's critical that I point out the ones that stand out completely. Whether it's the captivating story, imaginative visual effects, or just having me go "whooooooa....", these movies have proved that the asian community has a strong media arts foundation. Asian movies have extended far beyond the typical martial arts idea into media that actually hold other kinds of meaning and weight. I have been exposed to many films throughout Asia due to all the time I spent volunteering for the Visual Communications organization.

"Better Luck Tomorrow" involves a group of over-achieving asian americain high school students. After reaching the academic pinnacle, they become bored. Very bored. They are easily persuaded with minor protestations to start an underground network of cheat sheets. Which escalates into a gang-like proportions of drugs, sex, and a whole lot of trouble.

Think back to your high school and undoubtedly you can imagine the cliques that formed. Depending on where you are, the demographic of the high achievers would most likely be asians. On top of that, there is the sterotype that all asians are overachievers.

Honestly, it's not a bad stereotype to live up to...but it is a stereotype regardless...

Truth be told, I was part of that group of over-achievers. Within that group, I ranked in the middle: not the head runner in grades nor was I lagging. I maintained myself and came away pretty normal.

I've seen firsthand how crazy students can get. The pressure to be on top, get through high school, worry about the oppositite sex, studying for the SAT's ,and try to come up with an orignal answer to "Why do you want to go to this college?" can easily push someone to the dark side. I went to an LAUSD high school. If you wanted drugs and alcohol, it wasn't that hard to find.

Coming off my own high school memories, this movie is not too far fetched. Although I do live in an urban jungle not the gated communities of the outer regions. There is so much to do in the city that I never heard the urge to explore in drugs, etc.

I was also blessed with an overproctective mother who dropped me off at the gate and watch me walk in. She would be waiting there at the end of colorguard practice so there wasn't a whole lot of chances to sneak away and do nefarious deeds. She was furious when I walked to the 7-11 three blocks away when practice let out early! oh, that was an ear full...

Here are a few thoughts of the cast:
* The main actors are all asian and good. Very few movies can boast that. We get a chance to understand each character and their motives as they aim for the same goal of power and money.

* Ben Manibag played by Parry Shen is the main protagonist in the movie. We pretty much follow his decisions and inner monologue throughout the movie. He's sweet but kind of bland. I don't feel sorry for him when shit goes down the drain.

* My personal favorite character is Han played by Sung Kang. He is just bad ass awesome.

* Han's cousin, Virgil, played by Jason Tobin reminded me of Animal the muppet. His energy was crazy and psychotic. Han and Virgil are close but are extremely violent towards one another. Yet you can tell that Han does care for Virgil in a way.

* It also features one of my favorite actors, John Cho. This is the only role I know that he plays a serious character. Cute and talented.


There is just so much I can say about this movie. It was truthful in its own way, humorous at some parts, dark at others. The movie loves to ask the question "Are you happy?". Simple but a question that is hard to answer. It's one of those independant movies that you have to watch and ponder yourself that answer.


There can be no question that you would be deep in thought after the movie ends.

It'll probably make you reconsider your fellow asian students just a little bit.

Stardust (2007)

I'm really lazy today and I wanted to watch my other favorite Neil Gaimen movie. Except I can't find it anymore. I have boxes of DVDs and I can't find the one movie I wanna watch right. I bet I'll find it tomorrow or some other random point in time.

This movie really slipped under the radar for many people. Most have sadly never even heard of the graphic novel. It's one of Gaimens romantic stories full of aerial pirates, witches, falling stars, and lots of magic. The novel reminded me of a Grimm's brothers atmosphere. That kind of dark setting with an optimistic charge forward.

"Stardust" involves a whole lot of groups. I'm gonna try to just list them all.
Starting point: A dying king throws an amulet to the sky and hits a star. (note: a star becomes a human in the magical realm beyond the Wall)

1. Whichever one of his sons finds the fallen star, becomes king
2. Three witches see the star and designates one witch to capture the heart of the fallen star. Heart of the fallen star: extend your mortal life
3. Tristan (our hero of the movie) promised to capture the fallen star for the attentions of a girl he crushes on

Guess who gets to her first?

Tristan uses a strong magical cord to bind the star in order to lead her to the crush. Alot of people have grumbled that kidnapping doesn't make you like the hero at all. It must be viewed in the context of the movie. He truly believes that he will capture fallen star. Not in a hypothetical sense but in the sense that it can happen. Who's to say that he would view that star as anything else but a star? It's a complete surprise to him when he realizes that the star is a human girl but he marches on forward. He's so blinded by his determination for his crush that he would do anything. I find that very sweet. Stupid. But sweet.

As he travels back towards his villages, they both encounter all the parties that are trying to get a hold of the star. They escape with the help of many allies including Robert Di Niro as a happy pirate. Along the way, Tristan discovers the strength within himself and questions the supposed feelings he has for the crush since he's starting to fall for the star.

Its a fun movie that I enjoy watching over and over again. It's not epic but it has all the satisfying goodies that will make me forget about reality. It's funny, romantic, and just plain cool.

I'm not a huge fan of Claire Danes (who plays the star) but I can easily over look that for Charlie Cox (who plays Tristan). Mmmm, he's such a cutie! When he sword fights, it is just delightful. Very, very delightful.

Dang it. Where the hell is that movie?!?!?

The Bride With the White Hair (1993)

There is a character that is widely referenced in alot of asian movies commonly seen as the bride/lady with the white hair. It was usually a powerful woman with long flowing white hair. She would be an expert on martial and magical arts. There were even a few variations in some thai fantasy movies. I assumed that she must represent either an idea or a goddess. So I'm not too sure if this movie started the whole idea or if it was from that idea.

Whatever the background, it's one of the most emotionally and sexually tense fantasy martial arts movie I have ever watched. I don't really have a strong stomach for alot of martial movies since I shut my eyes every time a blade flashes. It's a weird reaction. I can handle gun attacks without a hitch in my breath. The minute I see a blade and my body tingles from fear. I could only remember parts of Kill Bill

"The Bride with the White Hair" involves treachery, lust, love, and vengeance. There is a woman with white hair who is some sort of assasin for a demon joined siamese twin(They are joined in the back-weird). The connection is that she is the bride of the male siamese twin. The bride is set out to kill a young warrior who is opposing the evil group that the demon lord twins are leading. The warrior and the Bride fall in love ( there is an eye opening love scene in a waterfall....wow...). I suppose I can watch it because it is essentially a romance movie. With alot of swordplay.

Several plot plots later, the bride is betrayed and she gets ROYALLY PISSED OFF. I've developed the reputation for being a snarling grumpy pants in the morning and snapping at people when they slack off work. Yeah, that's nothing. This woman is so pissed off that her HAIR starts attacking people. HER HAIR. Hair that is dead. Attacking. Like a cobra strike. This hair had the ability to stretch and extend every possible degree so no one could escape.

She makes me look meek and submissive.

The movie is subtitled so I can't really tell if the dialogue is great. The weird thing is that I thought this movie was much older since the footage seemed so grainy and there was that jerky action movements from the actors. I was really surprised that it was only made in 1993. Maybe this is the release date....I'm not too sure.

It's not the best martial arts movie. Alot of parts are really predictable but it was still enjoyable to watch. The swordplay is amazing no matter if you don't like the story. Alot of the acting seemed over the top but I'm used to that when dealing with this movie genre.

The part where they introduced the demon siamese twins was really disturbing to me. I kept imagining that if the brother made love to the bride, would the sister close her eyes? I doubt. I bet she would her head off. That's all she seemed to do. Cackle.

I didn't blame the bride one bit for getting pissed. She fell in love with the man and trusted him. She went through the most grueling and heartbreaking walk over HOT coals in order to break apart from the demons group and lose her powers. She sacrificed everything for him! Then he breaks her trust by not trusting her. He doesn't even talk to her before turning. The minute she was pissed I was cheering for her to kill every single bastard in that temple. When he vowed to wait on that mountain for her and she didn't show up, I just though: Good.

That part of the story surprised me. It really showed a lot of consideration that even a strong woman is vulnerable to love. All women are. It's so easy to be in love, right? Only grant access to the most vulnerable and raw part of you. Only trust in blind faith that the other person will love you back. Reality is, that isn't always true. Sometimes we make mistakes in trusting people.


If my hair was able to attack people whenever I've been betrayed.....wow. That's quite a body count.



I just can't get over it.

HER HAIR KILLED PEOPLE!!!

Kinky Boots (2005)

What is it about British comedies that is so hilarious? Maybe it's that country's image of pomposity alongside with sexual innuendos that just amps the comedy so much higher.

Now mix in some drag queen humor and I'm set. I do love drag queens.

"Kinky Boots" is a movie that has skimmed under the radar of the masses. What a shame. This was a movie worthy of more attention than it received.

The movie involves a young man, Charlie, who has just inherited a boot making company. Unfortunately, the company is in decline unless Charlie can come up with a way to save it. He is inspired by a drag queen whose boot wear are spectacular but poorly made. After a few sputtering starts, they are able to manufacture strong and beautiful footwear suitable for the glamorous, strutting drag queens.

There is such a stark contract of the dreay factory worker lifestyle from the sparkly queens .It becomes an obvious tale of the intermingling of two different ideas. The ideas do not adhere cohesively at first but as they say with physics: with enough force, you can overcome the resistance and join them.

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the fabulous drag queen, Lola. He is the one who makes the movie. There are awesome costumes and a great fashion show segment at the end. There are thoughts about the drag queen culture and close-minded-ness scattered across the movie but it doesn't try to make it the focal point of it.

What I came away with from the movie was that there are many ideas and solutions out there. Sometimes they're just in very surprising places. Don't give up hope or dreams. It's one of my inspiring movies to lift me up from a dreary long work day.

Barbarella (1968)

This blog must come as a complete surprise since this is written by a female. I've only heard of guys loving this movie (no, ahem, surprise) .I will proudly say that I love this movie.

I have a few cult movies in my collection and this is one of them. "Barbarella" is one of the most sexiest, silliest science fiction cult movie there is. It has been highly referenced in almost all genres from music to books.

Jane Fonda bravely plays Secret agent Barbarella. After the coolest anti gravity striptease introduction ever made, she is summoned by Earth to track down Durand Durand (yeah the band was named after the villain), an evil scientist. On route, she encounters allies and foes that all seem hell bent in getting her as naked as possible. That is the whole story. That's it.

I love sex humor movies. They're so much fun and it is quite enjoyable to see conservative people squirm. This movie combines sex, sexiness, sexual innuendos, outright sex amidst a science fiction background. Lots of robots, laser guns, machines, and hookahs ( Essence of Man, snort).

There isn't much to write about this movie. It has to to be truly viewed in order to understand why there is such a strong cult following. I don't think this movie should be just for the pleasure of males. I know alot of my female friends that would truly love this movie since we share the same dirty humor. Come on, the Excessive Organ that is supposed to kill a person by pleasure? I cracked up so hard when Barbarella broke it. Jane Fonda's expression at that scene must have occupied alot of male minds.

There is an angel involved in this movie. A very hot, chiseled, blond angel...
mm... lemme wipe the drool away...
...anyway, there is a scene where he carries Barberella while flying in the air as she fires her laser gun at the approaching enemies. That was such an exciting part! I love that part! Although the angel dive bombs into the ground and is kind of a wet napkin. Oh well. Eye candy.

Oddly enough, I was introduced to this movie after my sociology class in my sophomore year in college. I still have no idea what compelled the professor to showcase this movie. The only introduction he gave was, "Check out Jane Fonda".

It was awful fun seeing the embarrassed faces of my male classmates that surrounded me after wards. Hee.


Pygar (the angel) : "An angel doesn't "make" love, he is love"

oh gag me.

Just shuddap and look pretty.

Midnight ( 1939)

After working six days in a row, I am mentally exhausted.

I had to stare at my computer for a couple of hours to remember what movie I was going to write about. I just couldn't believe that of all the movies I've watched, I couldn't muster up any ideas. Or better yet, conjure up the memory of the movie in it's entirety. One thing that sucks about being a movie geekis having all the movies I've ever watched blend into a mixture of black, white, color, and occasionally sparkly things.

"Midnight" is easily one of my favorite screwball comedy. It's a comedy of dialogue, a seductive farce and the resulting consequences. There is hilarious sequence with John Barrymore (yup, Drew Barrymores' grandfather) when he imitates a little girls voice over the phone. I snorted up water up my nose from laughing so hard.

As a side note, isn't that just an eerily amazing thing about movies? This movie was made 71 years ago for an audience with a completely different lifestyle and thoughts. Yet it has the ability to be funny and remarkable to this day. Whatever your standards are for marking a great movie, that is still a pretty flooring revelation. Insert epic music here, panning to a cloudy sky.

"Midnight" involves a broke showgirl named Eve Peabody. So broke that the only things she has are the the evening gown she wears and a coat. That's it I bet many of us can relate to that.She arrives in Paris and captures the attention of a taxi driver,Tibor Czerny. He is so kind to her that he drives her (for free) to various nightclubs so she could try to get a job. Upon failing, he goes even further and treats her to dinner!When Peabody realizes that Czerny really won't let her go as a consequence of falling in love with her, she runs away from him and crashes an elegant party where she calls herself "Baroness Czerny". Thanks for the good female image sista...

...But wait! Before you dismiss her as a vile piece of [expletive], just know that she has reasons for doing so which she explains throughout the movie. It's so hard to hate on her, though. Peabody is that type of girl whose words are witty enough to lighten the mood but not enough to sting...

...So anyway, Peabody meets up with Georges Flammarion (John Barrymore) who catches her for a fraud. Instead of casting her out, He asks her to be a distraction for the guy that Barrymore's wife is cheating on him with...

...and if that's not complex enough, Czerny enlists all of the taxicub drivers to look for Peabody. How is that not endearing? This man is so in love for Peabody that he is willing to pay alot of moolah to the first cab driver that spots her. Yeah, that could be interpreted as being a stalker but it's Don Ameche, and he's romantic. So shush. Your distracting my swooning.

Geez, that barely covers the main points of the movie. There is so much that goes on. By the time you get to the end of the movie, you can't help but wonder how far will the farce go?

Enjoyable, funny, and romantic. Peabodys character is strong and determined. She started off broke and used her charm to float on by. She's fun to watch and a great character to admire. Admire her strengths. Not the fact that she is easily swayed by money.

Monetary Osmosis = Eve Peabody's motto in life.
Biggest obstacle to ideal boundary of financial comforts: Love.

Mirromask (2005)

I love surreal, fantasy stuff. The more it's dark, twisted, and crazy the more I am hooked. One of my favorite artist is Mark Ryden so that should explain alot. My attention is instantly grabbed to surreal surroundings and metaphors. It's the hidden meanings and stories that I aim to understand. I don't get it most of the time but when I do (or when I think I do) I feel a small sense of accomplishment. Surreal art or movies usually go above the masses heads and that's fine with me. Admiring such works almost feels like an unspoken membership into a small community. A community that just views the world in a different way.

This is a movie mainly written by Neil Gaimen. That name should already give you a clue as to what kind of movie this is. Gaimen is...a genre all his own. His stories tend towards the fantastical but I can't clearly classify what he writes. He wrote the "Sandman" comics, "Coraline" movie, "Neverwhere," and "Stardust" comics. I enjoy his works so much. He has a sort of young humor that I enjoy.It's not snarky or snide but with a straightforward and quiet manner.He doesn't try for loud and punchline jokes that gets people peeing in their pants. Just subtle ones that carry more weight that I would snort comradely. Most of his stories are simple. Usually the hero of the story is proving something to someone or themselves, whether they initially know it or not.

"Mirrormask" has a central heroine named Helena. We are introduced to a young girl who is full of imagination yet stifled in the circus family resulting in a surly and immature attitude. An attidude that is quickly dashed when her mother falls fatally ill. Somehow, reality and fantasy realm become merged with the appearance of Valentine, a juggling male whose face is obscured by a mask. Occupants of the whole fantasy realm world Helena comes in contact with is masked. She becomes entangled in a quest to save the Queen of Light, who has also fallen ill. The Queen of Darkness tries to prevent her from finding a cure.

I can't focus on anything else when I watch this movie.I can't knit, sew, draw, or even pet the fat cat. All I can do is watch in awe. I have seen this movie a gazillion times and yet I notice details that I've missed before. It took me awhile to notice the rainbows on the Spinx cats.

The movie so freaking beautiful. I love the dark style. I mean it's literally dark. Like watching through a very old camera. At times, it can be so dark that it's hard to distinguish anything. I wonder if there's a name for this style. Fantasy noir? I'm not too sure...

Reality and fantasy realm are essentionlly "mirrored" to one another. Kind of a "Through the looking Glass" atmosphere except this is more artful than psychedelic hallucinations. Instead of a cheshire cat, we have Sphinx cat who loves to eat books. Or humans. Way more scary yet cute....

I can sit here and ponder the layers of metaphors and parallels but that wouldn't be any fun and wouldn't help you any. Enlightenment of metaphors is a personal high that I won't take away from you. I can only point excitedly at this movie as a sliver of saliva hangs from the edges of my lips.