Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2002)

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (film and novel)

One reviewer commented "it is exceptionally moving...and teary" while another critic said "the elements in the story push all the right buttons, but the buttons don't seem to be wired to anything."

I do not believe it is extremely teary nor disappointingly dull.  It is artistic in its literary allusions and appealing in the thirst (for books) within the plot. It is a piece of art that struck just the right balance between hope and despair.

Sure, the film may not be "insightful or unusual". However, it is subtle with its beautiful setting, subtle with many layers-- such as culture, humanities, the power of books, the changing world, etc--- and truly subtle in depicting human emotions powerfully. It is subtle enough it is worthy to be appreciated greatly.

After watching the film, I cannot wait to read the book (Director Dai wrote Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress before making a film of it).

You should definitely watch Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress if you are the type to sit down patiently and wait for the plot to develop. 

Mfilm- When you grow up

This is my first stop-motion video that is finished (help by Randy). It is made for Lisa's 17th Bday.

[ Randy, if you are still reading this blog, you can watch the final product here.Yes, I showed it to Lisa and she likes it =) ]

Watch it in youtube

Song: When You Grow Up - Priscilla Ahn.

Approximately 6hrs plotting and storyboarding; 22 hrs drawing and shooting; 15hrs editing.

Total: 893 shots

Reflection:

I admit for some parts we were too lazy and skipped some shots (and of course, due to time limit). We also skipped the last scene about the clocks and time travel, which explains why the video is ~2mins rather than ~3mins.

Improvement? (sorry for being a perfectionist ^^")
- some sound fx are lacking (e.g falling down the sky, stomach ache)
- frames are not matched up
- frames are skipped
- needs variation of pace (e.g needs to extend some slow parts such as falling down the sky and the rope walking)
- a mistake  (hehe, oops) a white gap in the top black bar. If you didn't notice, that's great.
- could've pop in something random at the end, lol factor?

Citizen Dog (2004)

This is another recommended film you should watch. Citizen Dog is the second Thai film I watched in my life and once again, its surreal setting, rich vibrant colour schemes, unique style, humour and the multi-layers of meanings about life, love and dream is absolutely captivating. Pod lives in a world saturated with a vibrant colours and weird tales and I  find it so tempting to pay a visit there! Not to mention about the weird story of Pod's dead grandma's ashes scattered into the river, eaten by fish, fish eaten by men.... etc and finally reborn as a gecko! You will get it when you watch it. lol XD

Synopsis: 
Pod is a man without a dream. He's a country bumpkin who comes to work at a tinned sardine factory in Bangkok. One day, Pod chops off his finger and packs it in the can, prompting him to go around looking for his lost finger at various supermarkets. The incident convinces him to change his job, and Pod becomes a security guard at a large company. There he meets Jin, a lanky maid who carries a mysterious white book around even though she cannot read a single word written in it. The aimless Pod has a crush on Jin, a dreamy girl who dreams that one day she'll be able to decipher the meaning of the white book. In this bright, colour-splashed world of director Wisit Sasanatieng, Bangkokians can grow tails and a dead grandmother can come back as a chatty gecko to deliver a few life lessons to her grandson. It's a world where innocence is so precious and yet impossible to preserve. The unusual love story between Pod and Jin is set against the playfully ironic portrait of Bangkok, the city that offers false dreams and real disillusionment.

Although necessarily episodic, the whole is weaved together by a warm good humour, a terrific and almost constant music track, insanely vibrant colour schemes, and the wonderfully everyday surrealism that is the film’s beating heart, most touching in the mountain of plastic bottles that reaches to the moon, and most amusingly unsettling in the reincarnation of Pod’s grandmother as a gecko. The first half is uproarious, but the pace flags (Pod’s brief celebrity for being the only person in Bangkok without a tail falls resolutely flat). The natural inconsequentiality of the picaresque structure is reinforced by the ironic detachment of the bone-dry voiceover (by Pen-Ek Ratanaruang) and by the heightened non-realism of the alternate world of the film; but the former is amusing, the latter engagingly weird enough, and Pod so unfailingly good-natured, that charm, romanticism and sheer oddity win out.

Other reviews:
http://www.trulyobscure.com/article/170/hiff-spring-citizen-dog

Van Heusen Performa ad

Art Gallery of NSW

Couldn't help to post this on the blog!
Today we went to the Art Gallery of NSW. It was very interesting and these are my personal favourite:

Haft 2007 by Anthony Gormley

Six Heads by Bill Viola

Observations by Bill Viola

The unusual extreme slow motion of the clips is very inspirational for my works.

Photo throwing- Experimenting with AE

Effect: photos throwing

For Yr 12 Lumcheon (4D committe video). 

I was going to do a 3D photo album pop up but exams are coming up. 

This is a simpler and cleaner version.

Re: randii's comments

 LOL! Hahaha, his reaction! XD even though it looks kinda fake, it's still so funny XD

Did you know I got tricked like that once, but I later kept laughing at myself for falling for it. My sis was just like scared and serious about it, lol, can't you take a prank?

Hahaha, "heya heya heya heya~" This vid made me day XD

Oh yes, this video. I want to be part of a flash mob! Let's do that some time! This is going to my to do list.

Hey, check this out. Haha, I would love to do that on someone XD

And I think this is the one I was telling someone about it. The prank is so great!

Best of Times (2009)

Some people spend most of their lives trying to forget their first love, but some spend a lifetime reminiscing about their last love. Since men are not goldfish, they don’t easily forget their past loves, it’s just that sometimes it hurts too much to want to remember. Nevertheless, everlasting love is always worth fighting for. Best of Times, a romantic story involving two couples show how even the briefest of encounters with true love can leave you with the most memorable lifelong memories.

Director : Yongyoot Thongkongtoon
Genre : Drama | Romance
Runtime : 117 min
Cast : Arak Amornsupasiri, Yarinda Bunnark, Sansanee Wattanakul, Yarinda Bunnag, Krissana Sreadthatamrong, Sunsanee Wattananukul

Love the humour and the beautiful real life representation. This movie goes to my list of one of the best.
When the old man offers the fruit in return for her hand (as a ring), she says it is the tastiest fruit she ever tased. This tree symbolises life and hope. When he rubs it on his heart, although a fruit is ephemeral, she eats it and keeps it in her heart forever. In comparison of today, the ring is permanent but not as strong as his love.
The casting is done well. The corny, childish ironic relationship of the old couple is hilarious, sad and sweet ^^
And when the old man throws his ball to the other people's side, that young dude's distorted mouth cracks me up XD

"Things we want to remember, we forget. Things we want to forget, we remember."

Remi Gaillard

I came across this hilarious guy's video. His name is Remi Gaillard and he's like Hamish and Andy. He's so funny!!! XD  he always does things that is unplanned to real life people. His victims often gets mad xp LOL.

  

Here's another one:

 

This cracked me up! I love the sumo suit! So cute and funny! I would like to be in one. Sumo powerrrr Gerrrrh

Love it how he just walks in and do whatever like its normal

 

The snail:

 

Love this one! It makes my day XD

Bill O Reilly Flips Out - Best Rick Roll Ever

Hahaha! Hilarious =)
am I the only one who is happy to be rickrolled? I like the song =P

Here's the original song, it's called Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. We should totally do that dance in formals XD lol!