novel to movie, old to new

the only thing i got for myself from the Black Friday sale is a Memoirs of a Geisha DVD for $4. we didn't make it early enough to get the cheap laptops (we were at the stores 5am!). they were selling like pancakes. no, make it, selling like nintendo wii. amazon sold out 100 nintendo wiis in less than a minute! we know, coz we were one of those who kept hitting F5 to receive a promo code. =P

anyways, i already watched the Memoirs of a Geisha dvd. it's a nice movie. considering that you need to squeeze a novel into a 2-hour movie, i'd say they did a good job. most of the major plots were there, they left out some character building scenes, but that's understandable. i just wished there were more voice-over narration to compensate for those skipped scenes.

i read the book first before watching the movie. what might have taken me a minute to read, took only 3 seconds to show on screen. which gives me a feeling that i was short-changed. but i actually wasn't. this is probably the reason why people were saying the book was better than the movie. i think the movie is good enough on its own. also, you need to appreciate Japanese culture before you'd say the plot is believable. things like loyalty, blind obedience and discipline might be too much for some too modernized minds of moviegoers. hehe!

zhang ziyi (or ziyi zhang, whatever) was captivating. in my opinion, she did justice to the role. i couldn't think of anybody else more fitted for the role, chinita eyes or not. i admired her in House of Flying Daggers and Hero. this movie is the final seal of approval, she's officially on my fave list. =)

~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~ O ~

i have the new Hale and APO revivals cds! thanks to my bro, my supplier. hehehe! haven't listened to Hale yet, but yung sa APO, it's a cool cd! i especially like When I Met You (Barbie Almalbis), Doobidoo (Kamikazee), Anna (Top Suzara), Yakap Sa Dilim (Orange And Lemons) and Panalangin (Moonstar88), in that order.

here goes that song again... When I Met You. barbie sang it with such a cool voice, her trademark. nobody can do it barbie-style! =) and the arrangement was awesome! i looove their music, there's something about it that always sets them apart from the other bands. i'm just so glad she didn't do it the way sarah sang it. i don't have to be torn between two of my fave artists. hehe! if i want it mellow, there's sarah. if i want it funky and with a kick, there's barbie. best of both worlds! what more can i ask for? =) ahhh, to see them perform that song together. i'd probably pass out from bliss!

and kamikazee's doobidoo rocks! alfredo had no trouble singing in sync. hehehe! the sort-of-shouting voice added flavor to their rendition. you probably never imagined an APO song can be rendered in rock music. this is one wicked warping of a song. the drum beats are heart-pumping! and the "doo bi doo bi doo" part has so much force in it, i can almost see the vocalist's pouting lips (on the "doo" parts) and veins-and-arteries-and capillaries-strained neck. hehehe!

top suzara's anna was so... un-top. i wouldn't have known it was him. i guess i was so used to hearing his voice with jinky. (ohhh, freestyle, where art thou?)

i can't wait to see (or hear?) what Hale came up with on their second cd. i was a little turned off by their live performances. they were like eheads, sounds good on record, falls short during live gigs. i hope they improve in that aspect over time.