Grab Bag of Stuff

[dangermousie]

I started Long Vacation last night, which I liked but was a bit tired so put off till later. Minami is kinda annoying though: pushy and spastic and abrasive. Please tell me she mellows out because right now I wouldn't want her to get together with Sena who seems normal, if quiet.

Though the scene where she barges into his apartment on the eve of her wedding was hilarious, I still wanted to smack her. And when she moved herself in? Maybe it's a pet peeve, but in RL I'd find this really really annoying.

Also watched bits of Rent DVD. This movie is addicting as I kept playing random bits and then other random bits and basically I could play the whole thing in an endless continuous loop. Told Husband if he ever wanted to get me into a mushy mood, just make me watch the end of the movie. I also watched the deleted scenes, and why were they deleted? They are under 10 mins total, and scenes like "Goodbye Love" are kinda crucial in understanding Roger's motivation (not to mention Mark's withdrawal). Or maybe I just love Mimi singing "Goodbye Love" to Roger and Roger crying. The alternative ending was interesting but I see why they left it out as it felt too stagy and would have brought us out of the movie as reality framework (worked for the very beginning, before we got invested, but that's another, different story). I also watched a bit of the documentary and what little I've seen is fascinating.

Also watched one ep of Peacemaker Kurogane and I love. Faith in anime is back after Marmalade Boy horror. Toshi and Souji are uber cool, I LOVE the animation style (how do they manage to make it so sharp and 3D), the main character doesn't particularly interest me (he is 15 but acts and is drawn as even younger), but the rest of the major characters make up for it. I also love the notion that fighting as a samurai isn't all that it's supposed to be: you become a demon-like person. I love the kid watching Toshi dispatch his assailants and he is shivering, covered with blood watching it as Toshi isn't even winded.

I have an urge to rewatch Orchestra Wives, which is a very forgettable early 1940s movie. The plot is a groupie's dream as it concerns a small town girl who has a thing for the sax player in 'Gene Morrison' band and after a whirlwind night marries him only to find out travelling as an 'orchestra wife' isn't all it's cracked out to be. Why do I want to see it? Because this movie is 30% plot and 70% music and it has the best music ever as it's basically the real Glenn Miller and his orchestra performing and acting in it and the music is to die for (the leader is named "Gene Morrison" so they could use the band's insturments with "GM" initialled on them). If I could have only one movie soundtrack, this would be it. And in related note, am reading Rupert Holmes' Swing and am loving it as much as I did Where the Truth Lies.

Comments

[linaerys.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you're making me really look forward to the Rent DVD. Mine just arrived.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's a really good 2-disc edition, chock full of stuff.

Long Vacation

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

Both Sena and Minami are on a journey, and Minami is in a very tough spot right now; I was quite taken aback at how abrasive she was at first, but as koalathebear has told me, the way that Japanese women tend to be portrayed in jdoramas is very different from Minami (quiet, gentle, etc.), so the character is very much against type, which I think was a really amazing thing - I'm still surprised that a series with this kind of storyline was ever even made. I grew to love Minami quite a lot, and partly it was because she is SO high-spirited. She's also sweet and she "gets" Sena in a way that no one else does. Also, she really struggles with growing older in what seems to me (at least how it is portrayed in this jdorama) a very ageist society, and the way her life is going is not at all how she thought it would be! So part of the way that she is a defense mechanism.

;) Just some thoughts. I really loved LV!

Re: Long Vacation

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I was coming to jdoramas from anime (which is the only other Japanese entertainment I have any familiarity with) and there, the stories are full of pushy, forward heroines. But usually they are a lot younger (I'd tolerate a lot more in a teenager than I would in a 31 year old woman who should know how to behave by then) and are a lot 'cuter' about it (which I realize is subjective). They are a lot less hard-edged.

I don't think it's her high spirit that bothers me (I adored Shan Cai in Meteor Garden and that girl was no walk over), it's the brittleness that gets me. She is not very joyous. There isn't the cheery high-spirit that helps with pushiness (am I even making much sense).

But I realize she is in a very bad place right now, and hopefully as I watch I will warm up to her...

Re: Long Vacation

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I guess that's my point - is that she is in a bad place, and she is brittle and "hard" for a reason. It doesn't go un-noticed by Sena in particular - in fact they exchange some harsh words on the subject. YMMV on her, of course. Obviously I warmed up to her a lot, and she completely won me over by the end - but this was after being VERY uncertain when I watched the first episode. I wasn't sure I liked either Sena or Minami after the first episode.

[elvensapphire.livejournal.com]

This movie is addicting as I kept playing random bits and then other random bits and basically I could play the whole thing in an endless continuous loop. So could I! Of course, I have been guilty of playing the soundtrack in a continuous loop, and that right there is enough to make me mushy and emotional.

About the deleted scenes, I don't know WHY Chris Columbus felt the need to delete them. They were very short, and particularly "Halloween" and the end of "Goodbye Love" are important to character development. It's the only moment for Mark to truly express his feelings and views, both to himself ("why am I the witness?") and to Roger, and I think the argument he and Roger have is very important in understanding their friendship and how much they need one another, and one another's support. And Mimi's section of the song always makes me cry, because she finally breaks down - that life spark in her is diminished and she sounds so frail and helpless as Roger is driving away, as she runs to the window and watches his tail lights disappear. The "hello disease" and sigh that rattle from her at that moment is just heartbreaking, because it's her moment of facing her illness, and is the opposite of the "Will I?" scene, when Roger faces his demons with a group of people embracing him and helping him face that darkness down. She's alone, and she's terrified and broken. It was filmed really beautifully and I'm sad we had to miss it. Also, the deleted scenes made Benny waaay more human. Taye got cheated. The small, fleeting look that Benny and Roger share as Roger is leaving was shattering, because suddenly the feeling between the two men, and the fact that they have somehow come to understand one another when it's too late...Goodness.

I'm with you on the ending, though - as beautiful as it is, and as much of an homage as it is to the original stage show, it takes the viewer out of the story and I'm glad they opted to leave it in the apartment with the film running. To me, it had more of an emotional impact that way, particularly that last beautiful shot of Angel. I adore the fact that "Seasons" begins the story on-stage, but after that, we're invested in the film, and it IS a film , so I'm glad they kept the movie ending. It was cool to see the alternate, though.

The documentary is beautiful, too, and I am SO glad that they decided to focus it on Jonathan and the theatre, rather than a making-of-the-film, because it still remains Jonathan's work and legacy, and now anyone who falls in love with the film will be able to discover how it all came about in the first place. Towards the really in-depth stuff about the show being developed at NYTW and opening night, you're going to probably need tissues. The film affects you, and I have a feeling the story behind it all will, too.

Oy, this is a long comment. :D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It was filmed really beautifully and I'm sad we had to miss it. Also, the deleted scenes made Benny waaay more human. Taye got cheated. The small, fleeting look that Benny and Roger share as Roger is leaving was shattering, because suddenly the feeling between the two men, and the fact that they have somehow come to understand one another when it's too late...Goodness.


Oh yes. Or the scene where Benny pays for the funeral and reveals he knew about the dog. A pity they got cut out. Maybe some running time restraints?

[weissman.livejournal.com]

Bob hugs elvensapphire's post . I love this show and have seen it in Broadway twice.

" I am SO glad that they decided to focus it on Jonathan and the theatre, rather than a making-of-the-film, because it still remains Jonathan's work and legacy, "-Hooah!

Bob

[syliasyliasylia.livejournal.com]

I have Long Vacation in my hard drive waiting to be watched, but I haven't started yet. :) I'll be looking forward to reading you thoughs on it!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heeee. I've been so tired lately in the evenings that watching anything requires more concentration than I have. But it looks like LV is a lot of fun.

[morwen_peredhil]

Orchestra Wives has been lurking in the depths of my Netflix queue for ages. Sounds like I need to bump it closer to the top!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It has a fluffy puff of a plot (though some fun bitchy scenes) but the music is sublime...

[morwen_peredhil]

I like Stage Door Canteen, so I should like this one for the same reasons.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's the reason I like Busby Berkeley musicals. The plot is non-existant but the music is great and the staging is pretty.

Have you seen "Gold Diggers of 1933?" The same genre of film, though actually a lot more pre-Code cynical fun.

[morwen_peredhil]

I don't think I have seen that one. I'll check it out.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

also love the notion that fighting as a samurai isn't all that it's supposed to be: you become a demon-like person.

I love that about PM. It's sort of like an anti-Kenshin. Hijikata is probably the epitome of a samurai, but he's no a particularly nice or well adjusted guy. There's also Susumu, who's trying to live up to the ideal of a ninja and nearly kills himself in the process. It's a good hard look at the whole warrior-heroism thing.

If you're interested, Trinity Blood, the Trigun-with-vampires anime, is done by the same director and art company, so the animation is very much like PM.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Icon! I love the hair in this show (shallow, me? Nevah).

I do find it interesting how it juxtposes the beauty and elegance of violence with its horror.

If you're interested, Trinity Blood, the Trigun-with-vampires anime, is done by the same director and art company, so the animation is very much like PM.

Hmmmm. Must look up Trinity Blood, then.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Hijikata is just a beautiful character. He's about as masculine and good looking as you'll ever find in anime. He's also a poet and good leader. Contrasting that, he's also a cold blooded killer who's carried out assassinations in the past. PM makes a very valid point that in this era, no one was really right or wrong, just on different sides. Tetsu's father wanted him to be a peacemaker in the middle of all the fighting and the show is really about what leads him to make a decision. There's also Okita, who is about as sweet as they come, but is terrifying when he's fighting. Later you do see some guilt on Hijikata's part that he's turned his protegee into such a monster, but it's never really regret.

Then there's Susumu and his sister, a story line I did cry at. I think I like the fact that the violence has a consequence in PM. It isn't just watching the good guys take a beating and then overcome the bad guys. First off, you aren't really sure who the good guys are, and secondly, everyone is touched by the violence, no matter what side you're on.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Hijikata is just a beautiful character. He's about as masculine and good looking as you'll ever find in anime.

I noticed. Yum.

I read the wikipedia article on this anime and then the linked wikipedia article on the RL Hijikata and was surprised (and amused) to discover that Aoshi in RK is based on him. Which proves, if nothing else, that I am consistent in my crushes.

I can't wait to watch more! But I have to wait for my husband because he is really interested which means not until the weekend. Argh.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and the RL Saito and Sanosuke have their versions in PM too. Sano is pretty close to the same as in RK, but Saito is not, which actually makes a bit of sense considering the real Saito was a complete contradiction, extremely adaptable, and an extremely good survivalist in these times.

The artbook from PM is gorgeous as the manga draws them a little differently. The artbook is where the last two icons were from.

Rent

[weissman.livejournal.com]

I love Rent, I have seen the show on Broadway twice, and I wish I could convince my wife to see it again. Because she is not a native English speaker she says she only gets about half of whats going on, so she is not to enthusiatic about seeing it again.


Bob