Archive for August, 2006

Jigoku (aka: Hell) - Criterion Collection — dvd movie review

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   August 11, 2006   ⋅   Comment now

A landmark film in every respect, Jigoku (Hell, aka: The Sinners of Hell), directed by the “father of Japanese horror,” Nobuo Nakagawa (Duel at Lightning Pass), is rife with Faustian allegory, religious symbolism, theological meditations, and brilliantly innovative special effects. The film has since been remade twice, by Tatsumi Kumashiro (The Inferno) and cult favorite [...]

Sorry Ma’am, Your Lipstick May Blow Up This Plane

by Kris   ⋅   August 11, 2006   ⋅   Comments [2]

With the launch of Ollie Stone’s WTC comes a certain panic among certain citizens. I, on the other hand just want the lines to move along, move along.
In June, the Federal Security circuit buzzed over plans to make SFO the first airport to screen all passenger plane cargo with x-ray machines and bomb-sniffing dogs. [...]

Tandoori Masala Papadums — munchies review

by Kris   ⋅   August 10, 2006   ⋅   Comment [1]

Trader Joe’s is one of my favorite gourmet grocery stores and I’m there every week. They always have some exotic new treats to try and Chris and I dive right into the goodies. This time, we picked out an ornately designed shiny metallic orange package of “Papadums, an authentic Indian style snack”.
“Traditionally,” the [...]

BEST OF THE YEAR (so far)

by Chris and Kris   ⋅   August 9, 2006   ⋅   Comments [4]

A lot of critics seem to be putting out their Best of Year (so far) lists, so we’ve decided to do the same. But, rather than list films guaranteed to garner critical acclaim (and respect of our academic elitist peers), we’re choosing those we would honestly watch more than once.
Best films (Chris):
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade
So [...]

Yakuza Graveyard — dvd movie review

by Chris   ⋅   August 9, 2006   ⋅   Comment now

Rage, honor, betrayal, duty, racism, love. All are at the heart of Fukasaku’s magnum opus, Yakuza Graveyard, a stunning cops and Yakuza tale that stands with the best hard boilded cop films of all time, be it domestic or international.
Tetsuya Watari plays tough as rusty-nails cop, Kuroiwa. An outcast from his youth, Kuroiwa is [...]

Our First Time… Firing a 9mm

by Kris   ⋅   August 5, 2006   ⋅   Comments [5]

Back in June, Chris took me to Target Masters in Milpitas, a cute little shooting range where we fired a 9mm semi-automatic for the first time. I told the clerk it was my first time shooting and he immediately said, “do you want a Glock?” We decided on a Ruger, which he [...]

Filmmakers people love to hate

by Chris   ⋅   August 4, 2006   ⋅   Comments [7]

IMDB held a poll yesterday regarding which director you love to hate. The top five spots were Uwe Boll, “Another Director Entirely”, Michael Bay, M. Night Shyamalan, and Quentin Tarantino. This was surprising because, according to the results, people like to hate Tarantino more than uber-hack Rob Cohen, fan killer George Lucas, action “master” Renny [...]

Aegis, Sukeban Deka 2, Otaku no Video — movie reviews

by Chris   ⋅   August 3, 2006   ⋅   Comment now

Aegis
Adapted from the smash hit novel of the same name, Aegis was an event film looked forward to with an excitement reserved for the likes of the original Jurassic Park. Taking its title from the name of a mythical shield of Greek lore that would render its bearer impervious to physical attack, Aegis concerns a [...]

Please Teacher! — anime review

by Chris   ⋅   August 3, 2006   ⋅   Comments [3]

The teacher turned lover is one of the most common male fantasies — at least for nerdy academic overachievers. There’s something appealing about an attractive woman with an intellect superior to your own (Heck, that’s one of the reasons I fell in love with and married Kris). The teacher fantasy is quite the popular one, [...]

Puffy Amiyumi - Splurge — music review

by Chris   ⋅   August 2, 2006   ⋅   Comments [4]

If you’re not familiar with Puffy (aka: Puffy AmiYumi) your perception of J-Pop is probably colored by cute girls in cute outfits singing cute love songs into equally cute microphones. Well, Puffy may be cute, and they may do nothing more than harmonize, but that’s where the similarity ends. Their sound is a delightfully peppy [...]

News Cap — 08/01/06

by Kris   ⋅   August 1, 2006   ⋅   Comments [2]

Oh, I could bore you do death about what you’re already being bombarded with on the news channels/periodicals: Global Warming, Israel/Hezbollah, Bush’s stem cell research veto, Tony Blair’s public castration part II, Fidel Castro’s bowels, but I won’t. Instead, here are more of the oddball stories you love. But don’t come crying to [...]

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