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Thursday, July 18, 2002
JIMBO'S EXPLOITS ON 7/17:
And before i say anything, a very happy b-day to Mike Chen on 7/18. Although he goes to Stanfurd... BOO... he still one of the most awesome people ive ever gotten the opportunity to get to kno.
Well, my "day" started off with a little movie yesterday w/ my good ol' dad. It ended at midnite, so technically it was today. Looking at the previews and hearing some good stuff from my friends, i decided to give it a gander. This movie is none other than Road To Perdition. Since it mainly focused on that father/son relationship, i really wanted to c it w/ my dad. Ehh, u can call it a bonding thing. Anyway, it was directed by Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty. Although they involve very different storylines and characters, there are elements to it that seem to be a mark of his style.(i cant really say thats his style, since im only comparing the two movies, but ehh). According to a passage in the Bible (i forget which), Perdition can be referred to as a state of damnation, of hell. And in this movie, i think almost every1 in this movie is suffering through some sort of personal hell, on the path in which redemption seems far from possible. Hey, its the mafia, sin runs rampant. If u dont want the movie spoiled (im not goin to reveal much anyway), then go to the 2nd paragraph. So, Tom Hanks plays mafia hitman Mike Sullivan, who works under the Connor family, whos patriarch is played by Paul Newman. Theres two real main father/son relationships, one biological (Sullivan and his boy) and one by association(Newman's character and Mike). Curiousity in this case will not give u a vanilla coke, rather it will lead to events that will make fate seem to be far out of ur grasp. Mike's son, Mike Jr, hides in Sullivans car on one fateful night. Armed w/ a tommy gun, Sullivan and Connor's son (and heir apparent to the head of the household) set out to negotiate w/ a fellow mafia member. Things get out of hand, and Sullivan ends up dispatching some of Connors former men. All the while, Mike's son witnesses everything. Thats when fate seems to guide father and son(in both relationships) along a road to which they kno not the destination. Connor's son, filled w/ murderous envy, is reduced to hide and fear for his very life. Connor will face a decision far too painful to contend w/, pitted son against son. And Sullivan proceeds down the path for which no escape lies near. Well, im not goin to say too much about the plot, but the cinematography was really well done, very picturesque. The colors (mostly muted blues and grays), shot selections and such created an atmosphere well suited for people on their way to damnation. Some people may think that these characters are so grim and dark that no1 can feel compassion towards them. But, i beg to differ. Especially for Sullivan and Connor. These men knew that the lives they lead will leave them w/ hearts so weighed down w/ sin that they kno that their demons will be the end of them, and "they will not get to c heaven". There was little time for deliberation, but in that brief moment of ponder, u saw the anguish of people knowing full well of their actions and finding no alternative to them. Sullivan i can feel for, cause in him i saw a little bit of my dad (no, not the hitman part). What was similar was that desire for the next generation to become something better, and both my dad and Sullivan subject themselves to hardships so that their sons can c a brighter future. I admire me dad, hehe. Yea, i can feel for these characters, even tho that their misfortune is self-inflicted. Yea, and again, i can sense a little American Beauty in this movie... im not goin to say, but its in the end... So, i recommend this movie highly. In James' words "Its a dark movie, turn up the lights!"... aha aha...
So, later on the same day, i meet up w/ James, Don and their Esperanza friend Amy. Amy is a pretty nice girl, it was nice meeting her. Hey, and she plays cs (she worked me a couple times, heh), even better baby, haha. Yea, so after the csin we head on over to In n Out to grap some double doubles. Apparently James has been livin off the things for the past couple days... yikes. Afterwards we lounge about near Amy's car for awhile, deliberating what to do and jus being plain silly(yea... well maybe jus me). Oh yea, a little note to myself: speak a little slower, and your words will be a whole lot more coherent. I found out that as im growing older... im gettin a little more goofier... ehh. Anyway, we decide to head on over to James' house. Krispy Kremes in hand, we jus hang out for awhile, talkin and watchin up some vid clips. One disturbing (but hilarious) clip was from the karaoke contest during Anime Expo 2001 and 2002. John Shin was in it, along w/ 4 backup dancers, singin a Love Hina song in a pretty good imitation of a girl's voice... and the rest u can leave up to ur imagination. Yea, that was pretty fun. Yea, so today was pretty good... but missing something... oh yea, a WC3 CD!!!! hehe, its all good. Take care yall, more to come soon.
Tuesday, July 16, 2002
Well, at least i wasnt as bored these past few days... there was a lot of stuff to keep me busy...
ehh, actually, jus one person to keep me busy. Little kids are curious about every single little thing, and keeping them from running around everywhere is a pretty tough task. But, hey, actually its not that bad. In all seriousness, i love to be around little kids, whether im playin around w/ them or even when u have to take care of the unpleasantries... in the end, its pretty much an enjoyable experience. Whenever im around a little kid, i tend to be a lot more goofy, and then i cant help but smiling, again in a goofy manner. W/ little infants i make a whole buncha funny faces. Usually the kid jus stares at me blankly or they smile... or even better, they laugh a little. W/ kids around pre-school age, i jus talk in this goofy voice and jus twirl them around till they get dizzy, that sort of thing. And w/ kids older than that... ehh, i dunno, but i try my best to entertain. So, the little kid ive been entertainin for awhile is my lil' 4 yr old cousin from korea. Shes a lively, talkative one. Her korean is a whole lot better than mine... ehh... and she can jus talk up a storm. And she runs around from one place to another, cant be in one place for more than maybe 5 seconds. Sometimes its jus tiring to catch up. Shes the curious type too, as most kids r, and shes curious about the most inconvienient things... ie my stuff... and usually i try to distract her from my room, hehe. But, even still, its pretty fun jus entertaining my lil' cousin, and to imagine i was a lot worse than her.... man, my parents had it bad, haha. Parenting is tough stuff... i cant imagine to describe it... cause i havent experienced it. I admire all those parents out there, who have to put up w/ odd nighttime hr duties and constant survelliance on the kid so he/she doesnt hurt herself or wreck something, and through all that, they have to set an example for the child and provide for him/ her too. After all, parents r raising the future of the world. Doing all this, and the only reward they get is the smile on the kid's face, the laughter they hear from a little tickle, or knowing when they tuck the kid in at night that they have done all they can so that the kid can grow up to be something great, so that the kid can live like he/she should... as a child jus being acquainted w/ the world. Ehh, thats what i think good parents are like... and thats what i think my aunt and her husband r doing w/ my lil' cousin BoMin. That i admire. So, case in point, parenting is tough stuff. Nuff said. Its something ive been occuping my mind w/ for a little bit... ehh.
On a totally unrelated note, i read something very disturbing on a website i go to a whole lot. Shuan got me started on this topic of Asian films, and ironically, i found something that related to what i posted on his site a while ago. Hero, a film directed by Zhang Yimou (very renouned mainland China director; To Live stands as one of my favorite movies) and starring the likes of Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi and Donnie Yen, is a movie that ive been talking about and reading a lot of during the few months before summer. What made me worried is that the distribution of the movie into the US market will be handled by Miramax (ie Disney), the same company that dealt w/ Shaolin Soccer and tried to ruin it by cutting out some scenes, replacing the soundtrack w/ a rap one, and DUBBING IT.... (i hate dubbin, it makes an extraordinary film into something much less, and a mediocre/pretty good film into a farce). Anyway, according to Chinese Business View (some sort of publication, might be a magazine), the production companies said that they'll make it "better", changing the "time length of sequences and how to depict characters." This is pretty scary to me. I've been waiting for this movie to make its release here in the States for quite awhile now, and Miramax has a bad reputation for butchering foriegn movies. I really, seriously hope that they jus leave it alone... please, jus dont touch it at all. Its a sad fate that the movies have, they are money-makers when seen on paper. And the execs are doing what they do best (or think they do), which is try to milk films for every last cent. Films are art, and when watered down and stripped of its essence jus for the sake of attracting a supposedly simple audience, it loses its potential to reach to something deeper. Leave it alone, and it jus might surprise u. Again, something i was thinking about for awhile now... More to come later.
Sunday, July 14, 2002
IN SEARCH OF A CURE...
for boredom... yeap, today was quite boring... but i havent posted for awhile, so here u go, my two cents (i spent most of my change at Nickel Nickel and Camelot last night, hehe). Boredom is quite the adversary, but i tried to combat it as best i can. But, it can lead u to do certain things u dont normally do in ur right mind. Or re-visit some interesting moments of the past. Or, if all else fails... work on the GUNNSSS. It helped out a lot, cause ive been a little under the weather recently. Funny how i recover whenever i work out, ehh. Man, i miss doing wushu too... but as i was saying, boredom can lead u to do strange things....
Over the Top:
The best movie about arm-wrestling ive ever seen... i dunno y i saw the little parts i did. I must have been pretty bored. Heres a little quote that made me laugh for awhile. Stallone: "Yea.. this hat here, its like a switch u kno... i turn around the cap, and i become this machine, u kno... like... a truck. Yea, i become a truck." (he played a truck driver). Hrmm... yea, im not goin to do that for awhile.
Jerry Maguire:
Im watching it as we speak. I really forgot how good of a movie it is. Hey, im a sucker for idealistic, romantic movies. (as well as the good ol' jet li/jackie chan/donnie yen/bruce lee/martial arts action flicks). Yea, when i feel a connection w/ the characters in the movie, its a good sign that ill like it. U got ur tragic hero that realizes that there might be something better than what is in front of him, an unknown football player in desperate need of a good contract (and becomes hero's future best friend), and the tragic hero's love interest who has an idealism that surpasses even his own. Its one of my favorites, after all. And whats a good movie w/o good quotes? (ones that i remember anyway)
Jerry: "Help me, help u. Help me... help u"
Rod/Jerry: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!"
*yes, its what made this movie*
Jerry: "You... complete me."
*And all those who complete me... u kno who u r, heh*
Dorothy: "U had me at hello."
*oh yea baby, thats good stuff... nuff said*
Yes, all in all... uneventful day. Pretty darn hot and boring. Guess i jus have to find my own fun, oh yea baby. Hope yall had more fun than me today, lots more. More to come soon...
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