uisceros: (Zai Zai in blue)
Taiwan had an big 6.4 magnitude earthquake about 3 1/2 hours ago. Luckily no one was hurt. (The epicenter was in, I believe, the southern mountains, and that area is far less populated than the north) When I was in Taiwan, there was a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was in Hualien county, which is fairly far away from where I lived way up north in Taipei county, but we still felt it. It was odd, since it happened on the day of the Moon Festival.

I really want to see the movie Crossing Hennessy (aka the return of Tang Wei, who I loved loved LOVED in Lust, Caution) when it comes out, but it's in Cantonese. In general I don't like watching Cantonese stuff. Not because I hate it or anything, it's just confusing to me to listen to Cantonese, because I'm used to Mandarin. Oftentimes I find myself trying to figure out what people are saying, even though it's not a language I understand. (Cantonese does sound very different from Mandarin, but I still sometimes get confused) I might wait to see if it gets dubbed into Mandarin.

I'm kinda pissed that Zai Zai's film The Killer Never Kills is basically stalled in production. The premise intrigued me (a "killer" who's into plants! AWESOME). At least he's filming a new drama Return Home starting this month. In the new drama he plays a military doctor, and I think the film takes place in 1949 (this might change, since it's Taiwan, and they like to change scripts). I don't know if this is a mainland drama, but if not, I'm going to die with glee. 1949 was when Chiang Kai-shek and the KMT fully retreated to Taiwan after the Chinese civil war. that year also marks the beginning of the Taiwanese White Terror, after the 228 incident. I hope the drama focuses on some of the ramifications to to the martial law period. (What can I say, I have a thing for modern Taiwanese political history...)

Lastly, Stanley Huang's new single for a videogame. VERY much love it. But Stanley, when are you going to be in another movie?! I loved him in Twenty Something Taipei.
uisceros: (Zai Zai in blue)
I first heard about Monga awhile back, and basically forgot about it for a while. However it was recently released on Taiwan, so it's back on my radar.

Monga stars Ethan Ruan, Mark Zhao, and Rhydian Vaughan. The story takes place in the 1980's, and is about a group of boys who join a gang. (Review here)

Now, it's a gangster film, action and everything. But I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in the history there. The film is set in Wanhua, which is a district of Taipei. Wanhua is a place full of contrasts to me. On one hand you've got Ximending. Ximending is "the Harajuku of Taipei", a place where youth culture is rampant. Everything in Ximending proper is shiny, new, and marketable. On the other hand, in Wanhua you've got Longshan and the surrounding areas. The area around Longshan is quite interesting. It's old, building are built on top of buildings there. It's also full of old people, who are often found just randomly sitting on the sidewalks. This area also used to be the red light district, and there's still a lot of seediness around. When we first went to Taiwan, Wanhua was one of the first places we went, and it's one of my more enduring memories of Taiwan.

Now, since the movie is set in the 80's, towards the end of the KMT martial law period. So at this time, Taiwan was finally able to become something, and the people had more freedom. I'm looking forward to seeing how that translates into film.

Also: Ethan Ruan. I LOOOVE Ethan Ruan. He, of course, does dramas well, but I love when he plays against type in movies (see: Exit No. 6). Also the pseudo-gay stuff between Ethan and Mark that the Taiwanese media has been kicking up is intriguing, to say the least. I'm not a huge fan of Mark Zhao, but I do enjoy some random hot boy skinship as much as the next person ;D



Note of awesome: I recognize places in the trailer. Places I've totally been. OMG that reminds me! When I was staying in Wanhua last August, they were totally filming something. I wonder if it was this movie!!!!!

(OMG people, I HATE allergies! I cannot adequately describe how miserable I am. It must be a new allergy, but who knows what to... I need some damn Benadryl, and possibly some calamine lotion)
uisceros: (Joseph)
Bought a crapload of makeup today. It was always eventual. Makeup = my downfall. Though all the stuff I bought was from a french brand (one of my favorites, but still)...

I also found a cheap bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate! There was much excitement.

I keep seeing ads at subways stations for a movie, and one day I was like "Hey... those people look familiar" I just looked it up, and OMG I WANT TO SEE IT SO BADLY! It's called "Prince of Tears" (泪王子), and it's about Taiwan's White Terror, which is one of the most interesting periods in recent Taiwanese history (IMO of course). I'm DESPERATE to see it! It's released on the 22nd here, and I plan on watching, despite the language barrier.

Plus it stars three of my favorite people in Taiwanese entertainment; Joseph Chang (his surname is 張!), Viter Fan, and Terri Kwan. And the preview looks amazing!
uisceros: (Mei-chan)
FINALLY LJ is back for me. Just random, and out of the blue, I can now access it. It's about time, I was going crazy.

Anyway, several things;

1. I'm sick. It sucks. I get sick once, maybe twice a year (I'm not counting my chronic headaches, because that's not immune system), and it's always at the most inconvenient of times. I really hope it's gone before I fly to Taiwan, because while it's just a slight cold, I don't want them thinking I have the flu, and then quarantining me.

2. I finished Triple. I do believe my thoughts echo [livejournal.com profile] darkeyedwolf and [livejournal.com profile] miss_magrat's, I didn't hate it, but still, I ended up feeling cheated by the whole thing. Not speaking to each other for two years? Random. Oh well, in my head they're together, and happy because obviously they're in love, and I'll be damned that in another 2 months tops, they're together and happy (if, you know, this were readl). It's funny, you know, just when I think I can't possibly love this show anymore, it becomes more and more delightful. I'm really, REALLY sad to see it end.

3. I finally got around to watching Lust, Caution (can you believe they were selling it for only $5?!), and holy shit was it amazing. INCREDIBLY DEPRESSING, but amazing. I was particularly impressed with Lee Hom, I thought he was amazing. Throughout the ENTIRE thing I kept urging his character to make a move on Jia Zhi, because he was obviously in love with her. Either way, the film was beautiful (what Ang Lee film isn't beautiful?), and REALLY interesting. I'm not really interested in ancient Asian history that much, but modern Asian history fascinates me. This movie spoke about the Japanese occupation of China during WWII, and it was just very well done.

4. Yesterday at the gym I saw a car that looked exactly like Hwal's car in Triple!! I got all excited, but alas, no Shin Hwal, no Lee Haru. Not even a Hae Yoon or Hyun Tae.

5. Finally saw Harry Potter 6. I liked it plenty (I half wished I had watched it to study the film theory, because I KNOW there was a shitload of good film metaphor in there), but it seemed very stilted to me. I know there's only so much they can do with the time limit, but still. The cuts were jumpy, and the plotline shaky (they seemed not to explain enough). Even the characters were strange, like Hermione didn't seem herself at all, and the whole Ron/Hermione relationship was portrayed fairly oddly. MAYBE it's because I was so invested in the books, but while I did like the movie, I can't say I found it amazing. My favorite remains Prisoner of Azkaban, which was an AMAZING adaptation of the book (I wrote my honors thesis for a film class on the use of light and dark in PoA, as well as the use of color in GoF).

6. I leave in nine days.
uisceros: (Chen Qiao En sexy)
This is the trailer for the new Taiwanese movie I posted about earlier, Yang Yang.

It looks AMAZING. Like, AMAZING amazing. Like unbelievably, awesomely, massively great beyond reason.

Something about this type of twmovie is just perfect to me. But the best part of this movie? It will still be in theaters when I get to Taiwan! Not that I'd be able to understand it if I went to see it, but that's beside the point. It's still exciting!

uisceros: (Rui Jia in teal)
This is like, my 80th post today, but I've been finding interesting things!

I was browsing the China Post website today, and read about a new movie that came out recently there, Yang Yang (which was produced by Ang Lee's brother, and advised upon by Ang Lee himself!).



Yang Yang stars Sandrine Pinna (from Miao Miao and Summer x Summer), Huang Jian Wei (from Do Over, Tea Fight, and Black & White), and Zhang Rui Jia (aka the reason I'm watching).

So from the description it reminds me of an odd mix between Eternal Summer, Miao Miao, and Summer's Tail.

I have a massive thing for Rui Jia, and I love seeing him in movies, because, IMO, he's one of the best, most underappreciated actors in Taiwan. He's been fabulous in everything he's been in (he particularly stole my heart in Love Contract), but in twdramas he tends to get pushed aside in favor of the more popular idols like Mike He (Love Contract), Wu Zun (Tokyo Juliet) or Joe Cheng (Love or Bread). On the other hand, he shines in movies. He was amazing BEYOND BELIEF in Eternal Summer, and he really did a great job in Summer's Tail. I haven't seen Invitation Only yet, so I can't speak to that.

I was really impressed by Sandrine Pinna in Miao Miao. I think she did an amazing job in that role, and kinda stole the show as a girl who falls in love with her best friend.

So I'm SUPER excited to see this movie. Like, REALLLLLY excited. It's so my type of movie. Unfortunately it basically just came out, so I'll have to wait.
uisceros: (Eternal Summer)
I thought I'd do a big ol' movie pimp / picspam post! I feel like it's been awhile, so yay!

Plus, I have time. It's the weekend, and I NEVER do anything on Saturdays (actually, I sleep. A LOT)

I have three movies to post about; Twenty Something Taipei, Miao Miao, and Seducing Mr. Perfect. My write ups contain MAJOR SPOILERS, so don't read if you don't want to know.

Also, I've been thinking of uploading Twenty Something Taipei. Anyone interested?


Twenty Something Taipei )

~~~~~~~~


Miao Miao )

~~~~~~~~


Seducing Mr. Perfect )
uisceros: (Viter Fan)
(Yes, I know I'm spamming the flist, but I can't help it right now!)

!!!!!! I just realized that Viter Fan is in Miao Miao!! For some reason I didn't make the connection earlier (Viter is his main stage name, but he also goes by "Wing Fan", thus my confusion).

And Viter is one of my favorite Taiwanese actors. He was FABULOUS in The Best of Times, and I loved him (despite the sparkly low cut shirts) in Ying Ye 3+1!He was my number 20 top Taiwanese guy! (Which I am working on, honest! I hope to have the double post done this weekend)

And shit, I just screwed myself over... I'm on a downloading kick... I'm seriously downloading 15 movies.

Random Viter pic because I can!
uisceros: (Zai Zai in blue)
I couldn't resist picspamming Tea Fight anymore. Simply impossible!

Zai Zai is SO COOL, all badass with his (still unfortunate) blue hair. And OMG I LOVE the way he walks. It's so distinctive. Like, he varies it with each role. In Mars it was more of a swagger, in WtSYA it was more jittery, but it's still VERY MUCH unique to him.

Also, he TOTALLY speaks Japanese in it! Only 2 lines so far, but I could understand both (he asked "are you okay", which I hear ALL THE TIME in jdramas, and then he said "destiny" which I know thanks to Escaflowne), so yay!

I'm not sure how I feel about Toda Erika yet. She's cute, but she will ALWAYS remind me of Umi, one of the worst secondary female characters ever. I HATE Umi...


Excuse me as I spontaneous combust. Wow, he's just... wow.
more picspam.... mostly of Zai Zai, because, who am I kidding, I'm watching the movie for him )
uisceros: (Zai Zai in black)
Late to the party, but OMG Teafight has been subbed!

Bring on Zai Zai, dearest love of my life, and his tragic blue hair!
uisceros: (Joseph)
I just watched part of Eternal Summer again. That movie never ceases to amaze me with it's beauty and tragedy. It's definitely one of my favorite movies of all time, and the best Asian movie I've ever seen.

uisceros: (Rui Jia in teal)
I've been behind on everything recently, even more than usual. So, I’m sorry if I haven't answered comments or commented much on entries. It’s been a tough week in that I've been pretty constantly exhausted caused by a change in diet. I fell asleep really early again last night…

Good things have been happening though. I'm making more finalized plans for my study term in Taiwan, which is super exciting. Right now it's down to trying to decide on which school to attend.

Yesterday I was reading some news on an english language Taiwanese newspaper site, and came across a review for a Taiwanese movie I didn't know.

Taiwanese movie info )

Still watching and loving Kimi wa Petto! Though I'm only on episode 3. I fell asleep in the middle of watching it yesterday...
uisceros: (First Kiss)
I feel like I haven't posted in forever (even though I posted last night...)

I've been wicked tired recently, which means basically no drama watching, and thus nothing meaningful to say.

But last night I DID watch a movie; Eat Drink Man Woman.

It was good, but nothing to intensely rave about.

The film opened with a cooking montage, which fit the movie, but since it involved animals being killed and cooked, I really didn't like it. It was interesting to get a look at traditional Chinese cooking though.

Anyway... Considering how used I am to twdramas and their awful production values, this movie was a HUGE surprise. It's REALLY well made, especially considering it was made in 1994. It's 15 years old, and it's better than dramas being made currently.

I'm not going to really go into the plot, but I'll mention a few things (with caps of course!)


Eat Drink Man Woman )

So it wasn't my favorite movie ever (probably because I found NONE of the male characters attractive... SHALLOW), but I quite enjoyed it, and I'm glad I bought it. It's the type of story I like; slice of life. I love seeing how normal Taiwanese live, so this was a good choice for me.

I'd recommend it in a heartbeat. It's definitely one of the finest Taiwanese movies ever made.
uisceros: (Yoon Eun Hye)
Yeah. It's weekly now.

What else I bought from YesAsia )

You know that when GD and TOP drop their solo albums (SOOOOON), I'm going to be ALL over that... And I've heard rumors, but is there going to be another Big Bang album this year? If so, it'll probably be a mini album, ne? Either way, I'd be totally excited.

ALSO, I might be going on a mini drama/blogging hiatus for a few days starting on the 24th/25th. Why? Because City of Glass, the last book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy is being released that day. And I will need to read it nonstop until it's finished. At which point I will become upset that there is no more to read. And then I will content myself with fanfic for a few days until the ennui wears off.

I've been a fan of Cassie's since I first read Draco Dormiens oh so many years ago (in the heyday of fabulous Harry Potter fanfic. Not that there isn't still a lot of good stuff, I just miss the old fics by Lori, AngieJ, Heidi, etc). I basically haven't stopped reading her stuff since 2001. I'm highly saddened that one of my favorite trilogies is coming to an end, but what can you do. At least I get to see if Jace and Clary are actually related (I'm betting not, but you never know).
uisceros: (My So Called Love)
Okay, so the My So Called Love post...

Like I said before, this was an enjoyable movie, if only for the pretty. The plot confused me. If I haven't read plot synopsis' prior to watching I would have been totally lost. But Da S was beautiful, Joseph and Eddie were REALLY hot, and the shots were well executed.

As we all know, I have mixed feelings about Da S (I like her, but I don't love her). That being said, I was transfixed by her in this movie. Most of my caps are of her, because she was just so gorgeous in this. I also capped Joseph a lot, because he's REALLY hot.



Anyway, the story starts with a dream... )

I liked this movie for one major reason (beside the intense prettiness). That being that love isn't always conventional. Xiao Mao was in love with all three men, they were all different to her. I think the truest love she had was with Ah Liang, who knew her the best. With Xiao Gu is was a passionate physical love, but love nonetheless. With Sunshine it was innocent, and new. In the end, however, she chose the love that had been with her from the beginning.

Anyway, I'd rec this movie, but be aware that it really is quite disjointed. I got confused a lot, and some scenarios seemed REALLY abrupt. But whatever. It was really pretty, and sweet.

Apparently there were some pretty risque sex scenes that were cut (btw, the images in that article, totally NOT in the movie, so don't get your hopes up for a bloody Barbie and Easton in bed). I wonder if they're doing to release a director's cut of this...
uisceros: (Joseph)
I'm at home sick today (I've had a headache for three damn days... it's terribly annoying), so I might actually get some stuff that I've been putting off done.

I finished My So Called Love, and I took 403 screenshots, which is RIDICULOUS, and means I somehow have to get through all of them, and find the meaningful ones.

I didn't love the movie. It was disjointed. VERY disjointed. But it was enjoyable enough. But what drew me in, the reason I have 400 screenshots is that it was REALLY pretty. The cinematography was lovely, but in a different way than I'm used to. The cinematographer focused on close up shots in this film, which was smart. It showed the intimacy of the situations. Plus, all of the actors were incredibly good looking. The close ups just really accentuated this.

Anyway, I'm doing a full post but holy shit 400 caps!...
uisceros: (Chen Qiao En)
Sometimes I forget just how gorgeous Da S is... and then I see something like this, and I am quite intensely reminded.



But yes, this movie has EVERYTHING. I'm not finished with it yet, so I'm not going to say anymore. But OMG I'm only halfway through the movie, and I have a little under 200 caps...
uisceros: (Rui Jia)
I adored Summer's Tail. It had a slow languorous pace, but still managed to be frantic when it needed to be. It had beautiful music. The characters were great; I cared for each and every one of them. It was a great movie, not in the same way Eternal Summer is, but lovely nonetheless.

I'm (probably) going to write a full review at some point. But not right now. Still feel crappy. I took ~120 screencaps. Most of them of Rui Jia, who I love EVEN MORE now. He's quickly moving up my list of hot guys I'm in love with. I knew he was special when I saw him in Love Contract.

Apparently I REALLY like Taiwanese movies. Every single one I've seen I've loved. I think Eternal Summer has to be one of my favorite movies OF ALL TIME, and I've seen a lot of movies. It's that good (I totally rewatched it today).

Summer's Tail was filmed in Tainan. I was never really interested in going to Tainan in particular, but this film really showed the beauty of the county.



Mini Summer's Tail picspam )

I just randomly stumbled upon the official Love Contract site. Xiao Feng was supposed to be 21, and Ah Ken was supposed to be 23. Ariel Lin WAS 21 at the time. Mike was 20... He sure didn't look 23.... Rui Jia was 19, he was supposed to be 21. Conversely Lin Yi Hong was 24, playing 21.

Ages interest me...
uisceros: (Tony)
Formula 17 was so freaking adorable!! It's one of those fun movies that are like cotton candy for your brain. Fluffy, delicious, sweet, and airy. But ultimately unnourishing. (Nice metaphor there, huh?!)

It's basically a chick flick, with gay guys. But it was fun, and cute, and I don't care that it wasn't Casablanca.

The portrayal of gays was quite amusing, you had a spectrum there; from the huge glittery flamers, to the Gucci wearing business men. (No Bears though... but I'm not sure that stereotype exists in Taiwan) Despite some stereotype, I thought it was a fair portrayal, they even showed an older gay couple. Kudos to Taiwan for that.

Parts of it were hilarious, and I laughed out loud a lot. Also, I think I have a new obsession with Tony Yang. GOD he's hot. His face is beautiful. His CHEEKBONES! (I've recently discovered I have a massive cheekbone fetish)

Anyway, I'm probably not going to do a full review, but I felt the need to post these screenshots.


Totally destined to be an icon... I love you, Tony Yang.

So yeah, enjoy! )

So yeah, I'd recommend it if you're in the mood for something light and funny. It's highly entertaining. Plus, TONY YANG!! (Also, they randomly speak Cantonese in it, causing some of the characters to angrily say "SPEAK MANDARIN!!" I feel the same way, dudes, the same way.)
uisceros: (Big Bang)
I made six more icons!
- 2 more Big Bang icons
- 2 Eternal Summer icons
- 1 Formula 17 icon
- 1 Hello My Teacher icon (RANDOM)

I'm up to 25 of them that I like. It's funny, I have a distinct style. Lots of saturated colors and shadows. I think I'll post when I get 40. I should reach that this weekend.

I started watching Formula 17 tonight. It's cute (OMG Tony Yang is adorable), but not nearly as good as Eternal Summer is.

I also found that Crystal Boys is not subbed anywhere. It's also really hard to find raws. I'm torrenting it right now, but only one person is seeding. I'm going to attempt to watch it sans subs. Should be interesting. Maybe my Mandarin will get better.

In other news, I think I've finished most of the good Gokusen fic on ff.net, mediaminer, aff.net, and the shinkumi lj com. I NEED MORE!

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