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It’s the End of the World? Akira and Armageddon

  • May 14, 2012 4:00 pm

EUGENE

Previous guest-blogger Eugene Ahn aka Adam WarRock (http://adamwarrock.com) is an indie geek rapper whose new EP, Neo-Tokyo, is an homage to the anime film, Akira. The 7-track record is available for $5 at http://adamwarrock.com/neotokyo, and the the music video is posted below. Why Akira? Let him explain…

Akira was the first time I ever thought about the world ending.

The 1988 seminal anime film, based on the sprawling manga-opus by Katsuhiro Otomo, is regarded by almost everyone as the “first anime,” or more specifically, the first anime to really matter in the US. It came at the tail end of a cold war, where nuclear armageddon was only an abstract notion to most of the pre-teen children who were raised in the shadow of a faceless enemy, baptized in an esoteric notion of nationalism. By the time that most of us saw it, probably rented from a Blockbuster or seen at a friend’s place, it created this weird dissonance inside of you as your brain tried to comprehend this medium, heretofore a “kid’s thing,” now showing you a melange of politics, sci-fi, horror, and mind-twisting psychology, all very much “adult” notions.  Read more...

Reminder: Win Tickets to LA Asian Pacific Film Festival Premiere of SUNSET STORIES

  • May 9, 2012 10:21 am

It’s not too late to enter into our Twitter contest to win free tickets to the Centerpiece screening of Sunset Stories at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival this Saturday at the Director’s Guild of America. We’re giving away a bunch of ticket pairings, so if you win, you can bring a friend or significant other! All you have to do is the following:  Read more...

  1. All you have to do is “follow” us on Twitter @yomyomf via Twitter and tweet on why you want to see Sunset Stories and include hashtags #SunsetStories and #yomyomf in your message.
  2. Tweets must be RECEIVED by 11:59pm PST on May 10, 2012 to be considered.

US Map As Marked By Movies

  • May 3, 2012 10:11 am

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This is pretty cool! Only issue is that it represents only the contiquous US. Where’s the Alaska and Hawaii love?

What seminal film would you choose for the 49th and 50th states? For AK, maybe Insomnia or Mystery, Alaska? I don’t know why I’m drawing a blank on this one.

Since I’m from HI, there’s a plethora of choices by I would nominate The Descendents, Blue Hawaii,, or even 51st Dates.

What would you guys choose? Leave in the comments below.

Film Festival Dispatch: Far East Film Festival / FEFF14

  • April 29, 2012 8:10 am

This is my favorite film festival in the world. Who knew that one of the best Asian film showcases would be located in a small, bucolic town in Northeastern Italy? The 14th edition of the Far East Film Festival (FEFF) has just concluded and it was a fine edition at that. With over a week of popular Asian cinema, unspooled at an old Opera House (Teatro Giovanni de Udine), and super enthusiastic audiences numbering in the hundreds for every screening, whether it’s for a 9am or midnight screening, this is a true Asian cinema lover’s dream vacation.  Read more...

My Latest Rock Obsession — SHELVES

  • April 27, 2012 10:59 pm

YouTube Preview ImageStraight out of Singapore, this new power pop/indie rock band has taken over my iTunes playlist. The band is called SHELVES and here’s their latest music video for their song, “Against A Wall,” where lead singer Noel gets pelted with food, as well as some slaps and punches to the face. Talk about suffering for your art!

Apparently, SHELVES is made up of veterans from the Singaporean rock scene, where according to their official bio, “… were boys struggling to be men in the 90′s. Fast forward to 2011, they are men struggling to be boys again, finding solace in the cathartic arms of playing heartfelt power pop songs that promise the aching melodies reminiscent of Teenage Fanclub, delivered with the urgency of Weezer and insouciance of Pavement.”  Read more...

Cage Does Cage

  • April 26, 2012 11:53 am

YouTube Preview ImageUs Offenders love Nicholas Cage. Well, I do. He is a national treasure (get it? get it?) and I’ve blogged upon his undeadness here and here. Check out this latest montage of Nicholas Cage’s greatest performances but done in the rendition of John Cage’s 4’33″. Yeah, read the Wikipedia log about this. I didn’t get it at first, but now I do. Enjoy!

Why I’m Distributing My Latest Film on Kickstarter

  • April 12, 2012 1:16 pm

DAVE

Tucson, Arizona native Dave Boyle made his feature debut in 2006 with Big Dreams Little Tokyo.  He followed up with White on Rice, which was released in theaters in 2009.  In 2010, he began a multi-film collaboration with musician Goh Nakamura.  The first two films in the series, Surrogate Valentine and Daylight Savings premiered at the 2011 and 2012 SXSW film festivals respectively.  

Franchise.

It’s a word you usually associate with faceless corporations. In the movie world, a “franchise” is a cash cow: Twilight, Iron Man, and budding franchise The Hunger Games all come to mind.

But what about sequels that aren’t made as a blatant cash grab? What if the creative team just felt like they had a really great thing going, and that the story wasn’t over?  Read more...

Now, that’s a promo!

  • April 12, 2012 9:50 am

In the past couple of days, there’s been stuff leaked via tabloids, E! News, you name it about the filming of a “Youtube commercial.” It has been revealed that it’s actually a promo for the launch of the YOMYOMF Network on Youtube, and let me tell ya, it’s going to be epic! Jessica Alba vs. John Morrison? Hell, yes! And believe what I write, that’s just the tip of the iceberg…. The YOMYOMF promo is still in production, so check back in the next month or so, when we finally reveal all the fun and games in store for the Network.  Read more...

Bonjour Monsieur Lazhar!

  • April 11, 2012 12:02 am

An Algerian immigrant teacher, the titular Monsieur Lazhar, shows up in a classroom of 12-year-olds to replace their homeroom teacher who recently committed suicide witnessed by a fellow classmate. Invited by a friend to an advance screening, I unexpectedly discovered this French Canadian drama well deserved of its Oscar nomination and accolades. The film subtly and deftly explores the ironic hyperbole that an older immigrant can very well relate to and teach the younger generation with a recent traumatic past.

 Read more...

Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Preview

  • April 10, 2012 2:42 am

The 28th Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival presented by Visual Communications, scheduled for May 10 – 20 in Los Angeles, just announced their full film lineup! With 189 films from 20 countries, it’s going to be a very solid year of eclectic films (Full disclosure: I should know, since I am on the programming team) including, whaddaya know, YOMYOMF Films’ Sunset Stories! The film, which just world premiered at SXSW and was a success.

Well, the LAAPFF is welcoming the film with open arms, by inviting the film for the Festival’s Centerpiece Presentation. Now, that’s a big deal, because this is usually reserved for one of the most compelling and crowd pleasing films and with SS shot and taking place in the Silver Lake area, local audiences will especially enjoy the setting!  Read more...

Vintage Mobile Cinema

  • April 8, 2012 11:04 pm

Forget food trucks! What about a mobile cinema? That’s right, they have them in the UK, with one film loving married couple who runs the Vintage Mobile Cinema, which houses a 22 seat theater with a DLP high definition projector and 7.1 Dolby Surround sound. Not too shabby, if you ask me. There used to be a whole fleet of these cinema-on-wheels bad boys back int the mid-60s, where the Ministry of Technology built several models to travel across the UK to promote the British film industry.

 Read more...

Film Festival Dispatch: HKIFF Film Highlights

  • April 7, 2012 8:40 am

In my last Film Festival Dispatch blog post, I wrote about my new found love for Hong Kong. I was there to attend the Hong Kong International Film Festival (March 23 – April 5) where I served on the Firebirds Youth Cinema Jury. From the 8 films I had to see, they all had merit and overall, I was impressed with how well run the Festival was. The film selections were also quite good, with a broad range of crowd pleasing fare to more challenging works, and some great retrospective of master filmmakers who’s work should be seen. For a list of the winners from this year’s HKIFF, including my jury’s choices for Firebird and Jury Prizes (I will highlight these particular titles in this blog post), check out the winners list here.  Read more...