Red Cliff

So yeah. I watched Red Cliff this evening as it recently came for me in the mail. AMAZING film. I ordered part two from Amazon Marketplace a short while ago. This film is epic in every sense of the word. It is gorgeously shot, edited, and acted. Tony Leung as Zhou Yu and Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhuge Liang seem born to play their roles. The actors who play Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are fantastic. The biggest surprise came from Hu Jun who plays Zhao Yun Zilong. I had always viewed the person of Zhao Yun as well, boyish. Not so with Hu Jun. He played up the heroic masculinity. And it fit very well with the character. Long story short, you all need to go see this film. My only concern is that those of you who are not familiar with these characters from Chinese legend may be a little confused at first as the film presupposes, in my humble opinion, some knowledge on the part of the viewer as these characters like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, and Zhou Yu are to the Chinese what Hamlet, Richard III, Horatio, Othello, Iago, and Brutus are to the English speaking world. They are embedded in our collective cultural consciousness. My advice: read up on the history of the Three Kingdoms and then watch this film. It's the best film of 2009 thus far. Go see it. Now.

(My) Asian Cinema Renaissance

Over the past few days I have rediscovered my appreciation for Asian history, specifically Chinese history, really specifically Three Kingdoms Era Chinese history. This passion has been refueled by YouTube excursions into the world of the Dynasty Warriors series. It's a good game series based on a fascinatingly rich period of Chinese history - The Three Kingdoms Era. Look it up on Wikipedia. You won't regret it. These viewings of cutscenes from Dynasty Warriors 6 branched into videos of east Asian Martial Arts and Weapon Katas. From there, I began watching trailers and clips from Chinese films both older and more recent. I have since ordered two films from Amazon and am considering ordering a third. Each DVD is between five and ten dollars so the expense isn't terribly great. I AM always on the look out for great deals. the films Red Cliff by John Woo and Mongol by Sergei Bodrov are in the mail for me and I am debating the wisdom of purchasing Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon starring Andy Lau and Sammo Hung. Any advice on the matter? By the way, you the reader ought to see all three of these fine films.

Urinary Musings

I came to an unpleasant conclusion a few minutes ago as I stood before the toilet, emptying the last few droplets of waste from my bladder. (I'm sure you're all thanking me for the image running through your mind right now.) I am an incredibly lazy writer. And I find that proclamation to be both hideously depressing and cathartically liberating. I'm a lazy s.o.b. when it comes to putting my thoughts down on paper, processor, or interweb. My last post on this blog was in early December. Bear in mind, I've had plenty of "good" or at least mentionable ideas to post on here since December 4th, but I haven't. I've been too lazy to do so. Some excuse always surfaces in time to save me from actually expending some mental energy. Work, Warcraft, Meals, Jane, the Dog, YouTube, - ANYTHING to keep me from writing. Why do I do this to myself? I haven't even written anything about my book(s) since late November. Don't get me wrong. I've THOUGHT about my allegorical saga quite a bit in the last few months. I've simply not bothered writing any of it down. Do you have any advice on making oneself a more disciplined writer? I'd love to hear if you do. I'm also considering starting another blog where I can put all of my ideas for my saga online for friends to read and critique. Input on the idea would also be appreciated.

May you find Shade and Water.

World of Warcraft

Dear Lord, Phil downloaded WoW onto my computer. That was last friday night. I've played it a few hours a day, every day since then. It is surprisingly addictive. I say "surprisingly" not because of the millions of players on it, many of whom have virtually no life outside this fantasy world, but because it has ensnared me and I thought that I was "above" such sophomoric temptations.

Long story short. WoW is awesome. You all should play it. I'm on the Emerald Dream server. Look for player(s) Bladehorn or Theravos. They are my Warrior and Paladin, respectively. Jane also created a character today. She's a Blood Elf Mage named Pika. She be cute.

Mongol - by Sergei Bodrov

I just watched the best film since The Dark Knight. I watched Mongol directed by Sergei Bodrov. This film is beatifully shot, exquisitely acted, and simply well done all around. Mongolia's landscape is gorgeous and the actors portraying Temudgin and Borte (whose names, I am ashamed to say, I am unaware of) do a fantastic job. My only complaints are centered around a lack of visual explanation as to where Temudgin acquired his army toward the end of the film.

Also, there is shockingly little bloodshed for a film that's based on one of history's greatest conquerors. I'm looking forward to Bodrov's next two installments. You need to go out and see this movie NOW.

The Sorting Hat

So I'm sitting here watching Jane watch Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. The scene with the sorting hat comes on and Jane begins talking about what House we'd be in. I'm easy. I'm a one-dimensional guy - Gryffindor. Our friends are easy as well. Aaron is Gryffindor, Joel is Ravenclaw, and Will (despite his protests that he is, in fact, Slytherin) is Ravenclaw.

Jane herself eludes me. She is the bravest girl that I've ever known. She's smart and clever as they come. And her plodding, steady work ethic speaks volumes. She could honestly be Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff. All three fit her equally well. What do you think?

Mildly Surprised

So I'm sitting here at about 12:45 in the morning while Episode One plays in the background. We watched Kindom of Heaven earlier and Jane wanted something a little more "kid friendly". I am being somewhat taken aback by how utterly not-crappy it is. I mean it's not Oscar worthy in any sense of the word but I remember this film being a lot crappier than it is. It's surprisingly decent. It's amazing what a few years can do to soften the hard edge of criticism. By the way, this upcoming May will be the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of Episode One. Doesn't that make you feel old?