Hong Kong Movie Review: Kung Fu Mahjong

Yuen Wah: Chi Mo-Sai
Yuen Qiu: Auntie Fei
Roger Kwok: Wong

I watched this movie tonight after letting it sit on my shelf for a month and a half. (Thanks for no late fees Netflix) I was unsure about it and less enthusiastic about it than most of the other Chinese movies I have watched. So there it sat, next to Elizabethtown and Rumble in the Bronx waiting for me to be bored enough to watch it. And I should have watched it earlier! I thought that despite a clear focus at times this movie had what a lot of movie-goers enjoy: laughter, drama, action and a hint of romance. There was a surprisingly dark part of the movie in the middle. Usually something this light-hearted doesn't get that heavy into things, but nevertheless I found this to be an enjoyable movie. The pair Yuen Wah and Yuen Qiu are together again after Kung-Fu Hustle and their charisma is just as strong. Roger Kwok does a solid job as quiet Wong even during his "retarded" moments. (Watch the movie and you'll know what I mean.) So in all I'd give this movie a 3 and 1/2 star rating. :)

BBK AM99

It may seem like the name of a new and ill-named MP3 player, however the title of this article is that of a piece of DIFFERENT electronic-ware. My mind is boggled by something, and it's not relationships for once. No, for once the techno-girl is stumped. How does an electronic dictionary, readily available to anyone in China cost them a mere $20.00 (apx. US value) and it cost anywhere from $100-$400 to purchase here in the United States? This little gem:
Retails for $99.00 here. Ridiculous. I just want an easy way to communicate with Yixuan. Is that so much to ask? She has her own dictionary that she survives on and I thought I'd reciprocate that by purchasing my own. I knew Japanese ones were crazily expensive, but not the Chinese ones. How does our country stand on its' own two feet if it can't learn to provide easy communication between countries and cultures? I don't understand our country sometimes.

It finally happened!

Well, we all knew it would happen sooner or later - apparently sooner. Luck has come my way in a new friend. My friends who are still in college have acquired a new roommate, and she's from China. How exciting is that? Yixuan is amazing - she speaks really good english. We do have to explain a lot of the slang stuff. Try explaining "anal" to her... Turns out that isn't explained correctly in her Chinese to English dictionary. I'm glad that she will be here for a year, I think it will be a really exciting and educational year. Here's to Yixuan Xing and her polite ways. :)

Nausicaa Lives!

Ok, not really. However, some crazy and inventive people over in Japan have worked hard to realize the dream of making a working version of her Mehve (glider.) If I could I would go for a ride. The Japanese tend to create things that they love in animation and make them available in real life. Just like the actual working version of Akiras' bike. Check out the news that the hard-working guys over at Akihabara News gave us about it too.

Letters from Iwo Jima

As my love for Japan slowly takes over my life, you can imagine my dismay when I discovered the release of Clint Eastwoods: Flags of Our Fathers. But, this dismay was short-lived when I learned that he was making a reverse of the film from a Japanese standpoint. This is something that I think our country dearly needs. They need their eye's opened to the other side of things. Now, my excitement over the second installment of this story was just amped by the reading of the credits on IMDB. Kazunari Ninomiya is to play a character named Saigo in the film. I follow the Japanese pop scene fairly closely and love the band Arashi. This innocent-looking young man happens to be a member of the band. I immediately announced it to my favorite forums and here on my blog. Not to mention the dashing Ken Watanabe of The Last Samurai fame is a title character as well. Can't wait to see this film, I guess I should watch the first one beforehand though...

Chinse Album Review: 12 Girls Band - White Christmas

It is a rare thing when two of my passions collide. I love the Holiday season. Giving, baking, making too much food for guests and having to clean up after them. What I love even more is listening to Christmas music. I've had numerous nightmares of forgetting to listen to Christmas music during the holiday season, probably has some sort of ominous meaning in reality, but I try not to think about it. Anyway, my love of all things Asian have expanded to their take of Christmas greats. Some of them make me laugh, but that's half the charm. This album didn't do that. It is actually very pleasant to listen to. The perfectly harmonizing 12 Girls Band have expanded their reach to the Christmas music market and taken on the challenge of keeping classic Christmas songs alive. Using the various traditional Chinese instruments like the guzheng, erhu, pipa, yangqin and hulusi the girls (of which there are actually thirteen) put their spin on things. This is a fun and inspiring album. If you like Kenny G or Lori Line's Christmas albums, this would be a great addition to your collection.

Game Review: Clubhouse Games

So, I did buy myself an early "Christmas" present and splurged on a Nintendo DS Lite. I LOVE it. I have only three games at the moment but I suspect my collection will grow. (Especially since they don't offer rentals of the small games) However, I would like to offer up my opinion of Clubhouse Games. This clever packaging of 42 different games is beyond smart. I could spend days playing this game alone and not get bored. Dare I list them all?

Old Maid, Spit, I Doubt It (B.S. for those of you who have played it in the non-childrenized version), Sevens, Memory, Pig, Blackjack, Hearts, President, Rummy, Seven Bridge, Last Card, Last Card Plus (Uno with a regular card deck), Five Card Draw, Texas Hold'em, Nap, Spades, Contract Bridge, Chinese Checkers, Dots and Boxes, (A fun game my friends and family have always played while awaiting our grease dripping food at an impossibly slow restaurant), Hasami Shogi, Turncoat, Connect Five(Go), Grid Attack (Battle ship like game), Backgammon, Chess, Shogi, Field Tactics, Ludo (the board game classic "Sorry" renamed), Soda Shake (shake that bottle till it pops), Dominoes, Koi-Koi(a Japanese game I have NO understanding of, I just muddle my way through), Word Balloon(Hangman), Bowling, Darts, Billiards, Balance, Takeover, Solitaire, Mahjong Solitaire, Escape.

As you can see, there is plenty to do in this one tiny cartridge. It also has different settings you can play the Mission Mode for unlocking different songs and icons to display when you play with multiple people (did I mention the WiFi connection capability of the DS?) The Stamp Mode comes in handy if you want to earn points and kind of work your way through all the games. You can unlock stamps to use during chat's and a few games you can't play from the beginning as well during this mode. And then there is Free Play Mode. Pretty self-explanatory, you play however and whatever you want. There are different displays for every game too. I like throwing pencils instead of darts and at a paper dart board no less. Hours and hours of wasted time await you in this spin on classic games. Enjoy!

Hope.

My New Obsession

The Nintendo DS Lite is an amazing piece of technology. In my opinion the ingenuity to make two screens for any game is mind-blowing, not to mention adding a touch screen and wireless capability. I played with a friends’ this past weekend and now I am hell-bent on purchasing one for my very own. I’m not girly enough to buy the pink one, the blue one is too difficult to find so therefore I’m sticking with the “Ceramic White” one. Oh, how excited am I? I haven’t owned a portable Nintendo system since the marshmallow inspired original Game Boy. I plan to purchase “Clubhouse Games” – a game with 42 individual games included in it. I will rot my brain thusly playing Mahjong, Memory, Solitaire and many more random games. I also want to play Elite Beat Agents, a random Manga-like game featuring ex-CIA agents defending the people and fighting crime, one beat at a time. (Whatever – sounds like fun.) And, after playing Sims 2 Pets, last night on a friends’ PSP I am now interested in that game. They all sound like loads of time wasting funness. Can’t wait to get paid.

Mushroom Maven

My childhood dream of being Little Miss Moffat is now possible! Thanks to Japanese company Strapya, these nifty little Mushroom Stools are available for $13.50 (plus shipping and handling.) They come in four colors, Red, Pink, Blue and Brown. You can purchase one of your very own here. I'd need to carry this around everywhere with me if I ever manage to get to Japan. Sitting on my knees hurts like crazy.

EDIT (5-17-07) These were in Hana Yori Dango season 2! I bought one not long after I wrote these, and it's really fun. I was so excited to see something I own in a Japanse tv show.