How hard is it to find Asian actors in Hollywood?

There was a TV spot on Dragonball: Evolution last night, where there were snippets from interviews with the actors and the directors.

[For some reason, James Marsters with dark hair and an American accent still caught me off-guard. Watdaeff.]

I'll have to admit that the movie scenes looked cool, provided you didn't know what the original looked like.

There was this bit when the director was talking about how they were following the anime and stuff. I told my mom the fans were up in arms because Goku was played by a white guy, in an obviously Japanese/Asian environment, and my mom was like, "Then why is the director saying that he stuck to the source material?"

Bingo.

I don't follow Dragonball, but even I knew that the whole movie was wrong. The first trailer gave the impression that Piccolo wasn't green, and someone had even commented that the movie was actually Bulletproof Monk 2.

[Gave me the lulz anyway, partly 'cuzza Chow Yuen Fat's Hawaiian shirt. Also, I found out that Master Roshi is bald in the anime.]

If they could find Asian actors (that speak good English, by the way) to play Yam Cha and Chi Chi, why couldn't they have gotten an Asian actor to play Goku? I don't think a white actor would look any less ridiculous in Goku's famous orange-and-blue outfit than an Asian actor.

Which brings me back to the topic at hand, and to Avatar. Earlier on, the cartoon creators were talking about how M Night Shyamalan was excited and will be respecting the source material

[Now we know that the word 'respecting' is to be referred to in inverted commas.]

As I've mentioned before, I don't follow DB, so I can't nitpick as I do on Avatar, but on surface value (indeed!), it looks like the Avatar movie will be disrespecting the source material even more than DB did, with the producers making radical alterations in the glaring of all aspects: appearance and race.

If DB:E could find a bunch of Asian actors (to be background fodder, but to act in the movie, no less), why couldn't the people behind the Avatar movie do the same? Oh wait, they already have. Looks like there's a trend here, folks.

It's going to be an epic failure on Paramount's part to make Avatar "the next Harry Potter" since all else points to the fact that Avatar is going to be the next DB:E, except with elements of nature.

[Cross-posted]

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The trials of having a small TV.

My mom was channel-surfing earlier, and yelled (I was in the room), "Orgy ha mi hee lai??"

[Literally translates into, "Orgy is what movie??" Ya know, like what's it about and stuff.]

So I yell back, "How the hell am I supposed to know??"

[I really don't, by the way.]

A few minutes later, I go out to the living room, and do a bit of channel-surfing myself, since my mom has it on the Chinese ones, and I don't really dig those. So I check out the movie channels.


The movie she mentioned was on Cinemax.

And the name of the movie was Ogre.

NOT Orgy.


Tiny TV has tiny print, so my mom misread it.

[This gave her another opportunity to nagtalk to me about taking care of my eyesight.]

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Chow Chow~!

While driving around a bunch of years ago, we spotted this guy and his dog, his dog being the most adorable large-ass thing in the world. Since I didn't have a picture of said dog, (and I don't think you can just Google the picture and derive a name for it), I never really knew what breed the dog was, even though I tend to see his kind every other year or so.
A few days ago, in my perpetual boredomness, I realised that I could Wiki Martha Stewart up, and see the breed-names of her dogs! (I'd seen Martha Stewart with that kind of dog on a TV advert before, but it didn't really sink in till recently).

Turns out, the dog was called a Chow Chow! :D

Pics lifted from Google Images based on eternal cuteness:

Forever Friends Teddy!!!

He looks like a miniature lion, doesn't he?

Wook at his chubby widdle weggies!!

I'm gonna end now before I squeeimplode from all the chubbinesscuteness xD

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Watchmen (2009)

[Rather than copy-paste what I've written, I'll redo the whole thing. Just 'cuz I wanna.]

*spoilers*

Watchmen is based on the most acclaimed graphic novelcomic book of all time (it was on Times Magazines Best Novels Since 1923 list), and is set in an alternate 1985, where costumed heroes once existed, but is now outlawed. When one of their own gets hurled out of a window 30-storeys high, his former comrade investigates his murder, and uncovers a much more sinister plan of global proportions.

I totally loved the movie, although I think I'm slightly biased because the movie looks EXACTLY like the comic book in most instances, and I'm a fan-girl. Plus, each scene is stuffed with an ass-ton of Easter Eggs that Watchmen-readers would be able to identify, and that's just pure awesomeness in my book. I didn't mind the parts that were different from the comic book; just the ending I hated. Over the past few weeks, I read rumors that the alien 'squid' (I guess 'Cthulhu' was too difficult to pronounce) was out, but the events and outcome of the ending are basically the same.

Those rumors are true. The "How" of events IS different.

In the comic book, a giant monstrous creature is teleported to New York, and is genetically engineered to (massively!) explode on death (which is what teleportation does to you unless you're Dr. Manhattan), and the world unites, thinking that aliens are upon us. In the movie, a bomb is detonated not only in New York, but other major world cities as well, and is engineered to look like the Silver Surfer has visitedDr. Manhattan had chosen to create huge-ass craters in the middle of those cities. The world unites, fearing that Dr. Man will choose to blow up more cities if they don't comply.

Thing is, Dr. Man is an unwitting pawn in the movie's scheme.

In both mediums, all that death and destruction was engineered by Adrian Veidt, fellow retired hero. In both mediums, Veidt's machinery generates tachyons to cloud Dr. M's visions of the future, so that he cannot interfere in Veidt's ultimate plan: to unite both the US and the Soviets, and to push far back the possibility of nuclear annihilation at the height of the Cold War.

[Can't cook an omelette without breaking a few eggs.]

Yes, the movie's outcome is still the same, the world is united, bla bla bla, but I feel that Veidt is MORE underhanded than originally. It's not enough that he gives Doc Man's former acquaintances cancer (and blames Doc Man for it, by the way), but even goes to the extent of bringing him in as an accomplice without his knowledge AND framing the guy for the deaths of millions of others. Granted, nobody can touch Doc Man and he himself doesn't give a rat's ass what other people think of him, but it just doesn't feel right to me. And besides, the Soviets could always say, "Haha. And you thought Superman was on YOUR side," even though Kremlin's population was also reduced by a crater-full.

On a brighter note, visually, the movie is fan-bloody-tastic. It's like 300 minus the chroma key, and more dialogue. The slo-mo is a bit awkward at times, but otherwise it's just fine. The movie doesn't have much violence, but it REALLY doesn't hold back when it does (and you can pretty much hear every bone-breaking punch because it's so loud in the theatres). I enjoyed the violent bits, although I feel that they could've reduced the violence (basically to "when necessary") and increased more coverage on the backstories. Rorschach's was severely underused, here.

Speaking of Rorschach, Jackie Earle Haley was awesome! He's really Walter Kovacs brought to life, and I would really loved it if there was more screen-time for him (like Dan going to see Adrian in the beginning instead of Rorschach, since Rorschach had taken it upon himself to warn all remaining costumed heroes). Was rather looking forward to hearing the, "Possibly homosexual. Must investigate further," line in the movie. Also, the movie made Rorschach's death more tragic and personal, as Nite Owl sees him getting obliterated, after which he goes in and beats the crap out of Adrian, unlike in the comic book where Dan just lays Laurie and everyone forgets about poor Walter.

Another neat item of note is how Veidt changes accents, American in public, and European in private as well as with his fellow costumed heroes. I thought it was a very nice previously-unmentioned aspect to his personality (according to Matthew Goode, the actor playing him, Veidt may've been a German immigrant whose parents were Nazi-sympathizers or something, so he's kind of hiding who he actually is in public. Hence, the American accent.), although, if I hadn't read interviews, I would've thought the directing/acting was inconsistent.

The opening credits at the beginning is fantastic, and way better than I thought it'd be. They've woven the Watchmen universe with ours, and you can see many familiar faces and historical incidents in the montage. The Bob Dylan song was kinda annoying, though, but nonetheless, appropriate for the credits.

As I've mentioned before, I'm a fan of the comic book, so my estimation of the movie is rather biased (for me, the awesomeness is WAY off the charts! ;D), so only go for the movie if you've read the comic book, and for those unfamiliar, only if you're patient, since the violence doesn't happen often. The four people next to me left after the first hour.

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Watchmen review: up in a few!

I finally have my Watchmen review down pat, so if you guys have some time to kill, or don't mind some extra clicking-and-reading, do click here. It'd be great if you did :)


[I'll put up the actual post here in a few days time, so no worries really =]]

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Aforementioned sex and nudity censored!! No extensive awkwardness!!

So I just came back from watching Watchmen at the cinemas.

Loved. It.

Except for the ending.

No sex and VERY minimal nudity (like, yes to skin, but no to more defining anatomy) because of the censors, and Dr. Man's peen wasn't really INYOURFACELULZ, but on some instances, they forgot to blur it out!
Teehee!

Review coming up tomorrow. Quite sleepy right now, and I want to address all things Watchmen movie in my post.

Now, to find a way to see it on IMAX. Without the censorship.

[Heeheehee.]

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Well, it's official...

...Watchmen will be opening tomorrow, and I won't BE there to watch it on opening day, because I'm dragging my mom to the movie and she has work on Friday, so we won't be able to watch the night show on Thursday.

Yes, I am taking a parent to a movie full of nudity and sex (she doesn't care about the violence), but I don't relish the idea of being the only geek in the cinema that came alone.

[Because they all come in hordes.]

Right now I'm worried about whether aforementioned sex and nudity would be left out of the movie (screw you, censors), because this is a movie based on a comic book that I am VERY excited about, and I would very, VERY much love to see it in its full cinematic glory.

[And besides, we could always look like we didn't know what we were getting into. Well, my mom, at any rate.]

Even though it means seeing Doc Manhattan's big blue balls on screen with my mom sitting right next to me.

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Watchmen opening March 5th!!

THURSDAY!

Thursday, Thursday, THURSDAY!! :D

Hopefully, I'll get to see it on THURSDAY, that is, if my mom bloody lets me >.>

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What. The eff. Is wrong. With Rihanna...?

[I'd meant to touch on the topic yesterday, but forgot (then remembered and forgot again). Today's papers reminded me. Once again.]

Rihanna has reconciled with Chris Brown. Yes, that guy who beat the crap out of her some weeks ago. TMZ has a picture; I won't host it here 'cuz it's pretty brutal, but if you want, you can see it here.

The guy beat (and bit!) the poor girl on Grammy night. Irrespective of what had caused the fight (there's a rumor that Rihanna contracted herpes from Jay-Z and gave it to Chris Brown, thereby leading to a VERY understandably-pissed CB), fact of the matter is, girl got PWN-ed. It doesn't matter how sorry the guy is; if he can have an outburst like that once, you never know when it's gonna happen again.

We'll just have to wait and see whether CB is prosecuted, because if the only victim (ie. Rihanna) won't testify against Brown, D.A. won't have much a case.

Figures. Love or no love, shows how dumb girls are nowadays.


[I don't see it. It's not like Chris Brown is even good-looking, knawmsayin'? Girl like Rihanna can have anyone.]

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I've fallen off the wagon...

Sigh.

So much for fitting into a size 5 by April.

[I'm currently a size 7 or 9, I think. I've gone up. :'(]

Also, Watchmen opens this FRIDAY!! So, so, SO CANNOT FRIGGIN' WAIT!!!1one!eleven1
Must... refrain... self... from... asdfadfasdfgqgq

Ooo! And there's this game called Emerald City Confidential, which is this noir-style type game set in the land of Oz, 40 years after Dorothy crashed there. (At least, I think so, because Dorothy doesn't seem to be drawn as 40+). Totally, totally loved it, but would've preferred if we got to explore Munchkin and Gillikin countries as well. I miss these ol' style point-and-click games; nowadays it's just FPS and Warcraft and Counterstrike and more FPS... If only I didn't get nauseous from playing FPS games... Oi.

Speaking of pointy-clickity games, I've also downloaded this 2.33Gb game called A Vampyre Story, but I haven't been able to play it yet 'cuzza my laptop's lack of memory space. I only have 300Mb to play about with, and also a 1Gb thumbstick, which means that I have to free up at least 4(!!!)Gb, before I can set my grubby feet into the thick of things.

[They're grubby 'cuz I haven't washed them yet. Will do that in shower later.]

I realise I haven't posted up a book-related post in AGES (last one was on 5th Dec 2008; hover over link for book title), but I've just found some of Jeff Lindsay's books, so will blog about those when I'm done with them :)

Apologies for the lack of updates. Been getting inspiration at the most inappropriate of moments (when laptop not within arm's reach, or during mealtimes, when hands are full).

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