Movie: Ice Kacang and Puppy Love

I've recently been attending my very own Asian film festival. Every day, I watch a film or two. People say you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but that's not true at all. I judge these DVDs by their cover, and 80% of the time my prediction is correct.

So far, 'Ice Kacang and Puppy Love' has won the top prize for best film in my eyes. Don't sniff at the title (I know, it's weird sounding). The story takes place in a Malaysian town, and there's a host of famous Chinese singers that act in this film (a fact I was nicely surprised by after watching the high quality acting). The main character is a tough girl nicknamed Fighting Fish who has everyone shaking in their boots except for Botak, who is sincerely in love with her (hence the 'puppy love' part of the title). Ah niu, who plays Botak, handles the role perfectly--and although his character is mostly silent (besides the voiced over narration), he deftly communications the feelings behind a first love.  The movie plays out village life and the angst brewing within--we are introduced to a caricature of supporting actors. Their traits are exaggerated enough to make us laugh but not so much that it comes across as gauche. There are multiple story lines, but the quality of each is not sacrificed.

Fun fact: Ah-niu, the actor who plays Botak, also directed and wrote the film. Triple threat!!!!

If you manage to get your hands on this film, I strongly recommend watching it. I don't have anything bad to say about it. The acting is great, but you can't deny the power of a well-done screenplay. There are moments of hilarity as well as one that showcase trying family times.

Post: Moments

I found this video after reading Britanick's About page. The original reference made to this video is as follows:

"[Nick Kocher] thinks that if you don’t love this [video], there is probably something wrong with your soul."




This video is nice. It is a collage of moments, and it dwells just enough on each of life's details. If you like the vibe of this video, I would recommend watching these films. I've watched some foreign films (Japanese, French, Spanish, and Chinese), and my favorite without a doubt are the Japanese ones. Of the five Japanese films that I've seen, four I've like liked a lot. They are: Kabei (Our Mother), Ototo (My brother), Departures, and Shall We Dance. To me, Japanese directors exercise great skill and restraint in their scenes. The scenes often have minimal amounts of music or scoring. These films don't need a soundtrack based in hit records or music albums because they use the soundtrack of life. The pauses in conversation, the sounds of a quiet room on a hot day, the music of a kitchen--none of it is drowned out by overlaid music. Your attention is drawn to it, and the director hopes that you too will celebrate these little moments. The same treatment is given to interactions between characters--both verbal and nonverbal. 


And amidst all of this, these movies all have their moments of comedy. It's humor the way most of experience it. It isn't the scripted jokes of our blockbuster films or Thursday night line-ups. The audience's smiles come from the delightful realization that these on-screen moments resemble our own. Similarly, any tears to be shed result from the parallel between on- and off-screen tragedies.


You can watch the trailers using the links below:
Departures
Kabei
Ototo (no subtitles, sorry!)
Shall we dance? (the only true comedy of the bunch. Also, no subs. If you really desire subs, there's one on IMDB but the voiceover is ghastly and just destroy the delicacy of the film. I would prefer that you not watch it. And as you might guess, my opinion about the American remake is not so high...)

Youtube: Britanick - A Post For Thee + Its Sequel

Britanick (rhymes with Titanic) are the duo of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. Together, they have written and produced a sizable collection of videos, most of which are pretty funny. I've been watching a couple of them, and would like to share another two here:

A Monologue for Thee 
I'll admit, most of these references went over my head, but I liked the descent into crazy tangential quote spouting. Many of my favorite conversations go this way.



A Monologue for Three (the sequel)
What does three mean? Guest appearance by Danny Pudi!!!!!

Youtube: Britanick - Morning Routine

From the same people who brought you the Trailer for Every Oscar Winning Movie, here is a a video about waking up. Specifically, about trying to wake up people who are almost impossible to wake up. I laughed a lot mostly because my sister is exactly this way; in the waker-upper friend's futility I see my own.

Vulture: The Fug Girls Judge Julia Roberts

America's sweetheart graces this blog.

I read this hilarious little piece of the many films of Julia Roberts. The Fug Girls, writers for NY Magazine's Vulture, rate Roberts' films. Their tongue-in-cheek compliments/lambasts kept me laughing. 


They introduce the article as follows:
"This inspired us to look back at the past twenty-plus years of her movies, to gauge the very Julia-osity of her roles through the years, on a scale of 1 to 10. A 10 is pure, unfiltered Julia, which tips over into too much Julia, as if she were starring in a movie called Julia Roberts Reads Her E-mail and You're Lucky to Hear It; a 5 is the perfect balance of Julia, as if she were in Julia Roberts: A Love Story in Five Coy Smiles and an Open-Mouthed Guffaw. And a 1 is a complete absence of the Julia magic … as if in a movie called The Adventures of a Completely Ordinary Person Who Doesn't Make You Feel Inadequate in the Slightest. Let the Juliafest begin!"


Click here for the original article. 
Make sure to click on Slideshow to read each review. That's where the real magic happens!


If you like what you see, check out the Fug Girls' other articles. 

NY Mag Interview: Elijah Wood

Elijah Wood's in the news once again (click here for a previous post featuring 'ze actor). His new FX comedy, Wilfred, has debuted to record-breaking audience numbers, and critics have responded mostly well. (You can read the Huffington Post article about the show here.)

Amused? Disgusted? Confused? Check out the show to figure out your own true feelings. 

In this interview with NY Magazine, Wood talks about the hectic schedule of his new show, post-Lord of the Rings life, and basically oozes coolness. Oozes may be an unflattering word choice, but I'm confident that Wood's awesomeness can successfully overturn it.

Click here to read the original interview.