STUPID SINGNET!

Finally got around to hard-subbing Gal Circle. Did it once previously but i didn't like the Divx quality of the re-encode (used VirtualDub with filters). So after testing many different codecs i decided upon Xvid because of its video file size-to-image quality ratio. Think i'll rewatch Gal Circle again cause it's in English this time round.



No prizes for guessing why i'm watching it again.

Saw 3 movies the past few days, first would be 'Letters From Iwo Jima', or as Sau Kit calls it, 'Letters from 1WO Jima'. When i told Peng Xiang that we were going to watch '1WO Jima' i thought he would know that i was mocking Sau Kit but turns out he is another bodoh. He went to the ticket counter at EW West Mall and asked for tickets to 'that 1WO show'. I had to step in quickly and correct him. That auntie behind the counter tried to act smart by telling me it is pronounced EYE-woh instead of EE-woh but i'm 100% sure my pronouciation is correct. Movie was slow paced but i liked it (i'm sure MW will hate it). It's a complimentary film (from the Japanese perspective) to 'Flags of our Fathers' which i haven't seen, both films were directed by Clint Eastwood. Rating: 9/10

Ken Watanabe (Right w/binoculars) as General Kuribayashi

2nd show i watched was 'About Love' which is basically 3 short stories about love (duh!) short by 3 different directors in 3 different locations (Tokyo, Taipei and Shanghai) that has to do with breaking cultural and langauge differences. All 3 pairings are played by a Japanese and a Chinese actor/actress. And suprise suprise! Ichikawa Yui pops up as a minor character in the first story! Didn't expect to see her in this movie. Besides her the only other people i recognise were Misaki Ito (Densha Otoko, YUA, Ju-On etc) and Takashi Tsukamoto (Battle Royale, Midnight Sun). But i thought that Chen Bolin was pretty good-looking, and he rides a bicycle as well! Gonna get a jacket/long pants combo like him to cycle around Japan. Movie was light-hearted, nothing mushy or to cry about but i enjoyed it. Rating: 7/10

Story 1: Tokyo

Story 2: Taipei (suckiest of the 3)

Story 3: Shanghai

Last movie was "Midnight Sun" which is basically the movie version of Taiyou no Uta (see post below). Even the characters names are exactly the same in both versions. The story however has quite a few changes (Koji can't play the guitar, for example) but all in all i was pretty disappointed with this version. I preferred Erika Sawajiri over Yui as Kaoru Amane. Erika's insert songs ('Stay With Me' and 'Taiyou no Uta') i found to be more catchy then Yui's ('It's Happy Line', 'Good-bye Days' and 'Skyline'). It uses less Engrish as well. The story is far too simplistic as well and even though it's a 2 hour movie alot of the screen time is wasted on awkward silences and unneccesary camera panning. It fails to have the same impact on me as the drama. Would i be feeling the same if i had watched the movie and then the series? I honestly don't know. I loved 'Be With You' the movie but i'm a bit apprehensive about picking up the same drama series with different actors. It doesn't help that Takeuchi Yuko is one of my favourite actresses as well. Anyway i would highly recommend the drama for Taiyou no Uta over the movie but if you do want to catch both, then watch the movie first so you won't be so disappointed. Rating: 6/10

And i want to add that this is probably the most annoying post i have ever had to write because i kept getting D/C while i was searching for URLs and uploading pics. Singnet is fast when everything's normal but more often than not there's alot of problems with the connection. I want to say that the grass is greener on the other side (Starhub) but i bet many cable users have their own complains as well.