CLIMB THE STAIRS OF QUIET DAYS...SHHHHH!!

The scorching weather + the fires all over Los Angeles + being sick and stuck in an air condition-less apartment + using up my remaining sick/vacation days at work = one miserable week. 

I took Monday off, feeling slightly ill.  I thought I was OK on Tuesday so I decided to come into work, only to find out, that was a really bad idea.  I had this really irritating dry cough, and I was hacking all day.  I was even annoying myself, I can only imagine how my coworkers felt.  So at the urging of my boss (sneaky sneaky) I used up my last remaining sick day.  Of course the day I choose to take off is the same day that the sun decided to burn the planet and set Los Angeles ablaze.  The apartment smelled of smoke, but I had to keep the windows open because it was so hot, and of course this let all the little ash particles come flying into the apartment.

Not everything was bad, I mean I was at home during work hours.  I liked the fact that I could actively practice not watching Oprah.  Usually I'm at work and can avoid it without any effort, but these past few days I ignored the Oprah show rather vindictively.  Just a whole lot of nothing going on in the Casa de Gary.  You can bet that one the first things I'm going to do when I win the lottery is to get back to a schedule of doing absolutely nothing. 

Actually I didn't just lay around in my own filth and sick, I caught up on my reading and movie watching.  I finally finished reading Carlos Bulosan's America Is In the Heart , and I watched tons of weird quirky asian movies.  Maybe it's a cultural thing, but wow, what a world asian cinema takes place in.

Here are 3 songs from some asian movies I've been watching.

IRON LADIES 2 or Satree lek 2 (Thailand)

Basically this takes place right after the first Iron Ladies.  OK, so what happened in the first Iron Ladies?  Glad you asked.  It's the true story of the 1996 Thai men's volleyball team that rode a wave of victory all the way to the National Championships.  OK, so what's the catch?  The team consisted mainly of gays, transvestites, and transsexuals.  So what's the difference?  I'll save the Sexuality 101 class for another post, but I'm sure you get the idea.  Iron Ladies 2 takes place a little while after the first movie, the group has split and the members of the team are dealing with the fame and notoriety they achieved the first time around.  Egos get big as the bitch-slaps get bigger.  The group is separated when they begin, but do they get back together?  I'll save you the trouble of renting this stinker, they do.  I really enjoyed the first movie, and like most sequels, this one, not so good.  There were some fun moments though, including the Thai drag performance of "I Will Survive."  Classic.  I love how the beginning of this version sounds exactly like Madonna's "Live To Tell."  (right click to save)

• Saisunne Sukhakrit - I Will Survive

Info on Saisunne Sukhakrit / Iron Ladies official movie site / Iron Ladies 2 on Netflix

BATTLE ROYALE 2 or Batoru rowaiaru II: Rekuiemu (Japan)

Another sequel.  OK, how shall I explain this without making it too difficult?  Let's start with the original, the very first Battle Royale, which is one of my all-time favorite movies.  I first became aware of this movie like a lot of people, from watching Kill Bill.  I was amazed by Chiaki Kuriyama's performance as Gogo Yubari, I wanted to find out what else she had been in.  Battle Royale came up a lot in my search, and for a good reason.  Chiaki has one of the most memorable, knife-stabbing a boy in the groin scene, ever.  I swear it shriveled up and I had a mangina the rest of the movie.

This movie is about a class of 9th graders who are kidnapped, placed on an island, and forced to kill each other.   It's a last man standing kind of deal.  They're forced to fight because the government has placed these death collars around their necks, if the students don't participate by the end of the third day, the collars go BOOM.   

What I liked most about the first movie was that even though these kids were killing each other in the most brutal way, they were still trying to deal with all this teen angst.  Issues about fitting in, adolescent crushes, friendship, and being popular were all being dealt with, along with finding out the best way to survive the game.  It's a lot like life I suppose.  "Oh I have a crush on this person, but I have to chop his head off, what do I do?"  I think it's a question we've all at one time or another have had to deal with.

There's so much more to the plot than just that, but I don't want to get too involved. Seriously, just rent it, you'll like it, unlike it's sequel. I loved the first movie so much, I had to see the second, what a mistake.  The plot of Battle Royale 2 has almost nothing to do with the first movie. The kids and collars are there, so are the survivors of the first Battle Royale, but then the story goes crazy.  I'd love for someone to explain to me, what the fuck happened.

This song, played during the credits of Battle Royale 2, comes from the Japanese group Dragon Ash.  It's a nice lil' number sung in Japanese.  The title of the song translates to, "Climb the Stairs of Quiet Days," Aww how pretty. (right click to save)

• Dragon Ash - Shizukana Hibi No Kaidan Wo

More info on Dragon Ash / Translation of Shizukana... / Wiki page on Battle Royale 2 / The mighty original Battle Royale available to rent from Netflix / My favorite Battle Royale related website

SAVE THE GREEN PLANET  or Jigureul jikyeora!  (Korea)

 

Doesn't just looking at that picture make you want to watch this movie?  Save The Green Planet is probably my favorite movie out of the bunch.  It had a plot that was somewhat easy to follow, but it still had those WTF moments you've come to expect out of a lot of asian cinema.  Our main character, Byeong-gu believes that the world is about to be attacked by aliens, and he sets out to stop the invasion.  Simple enough, right?  Turns out Byeong-gu is a little crazy in the head, and his credibility comes into question, when he and his overweight tightrope walking girlfriend kidnap a rich and powerful CEO, believing him to be an alien disguised as a human being.  Introduce the crazy plot points and connections and you've got yourself one great movie.  Is he crazy, or isn't he?  This song comes from the trailer and opening credits of the movie.  It's a punk version of the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," that sounds suspiciously like it came from the OC.  I know, I know, but before you groan, the Korean punk band singing, with their heavily accented english, just make it so darn adorable.  You might not like the song, I barely do, but I highly recommend the movie.  (right click to save)

• Trans Fixion - Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Trailer for Save the Green Planet / Official website

Comments

[akumi]

i guess i'll go watch battle royale...see what my peeps have been up to...btw, just in case you didn't catch it, "Rekuiemu" is engrish for requiem! hah!

[rebeca]

I hoped you liked that book as much as i do...Fante gets a shout out in it. Hope you're feeling better! and by the way that's cheek as in butt...

[Ed]

Do you still have the mp3 file for Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Trans Fixion? I would like to have a copy if you still have it.

Thanks and cheers!

:)

[Nicholas]

Hi there,

I came across your blog while searching for a song that's been very very VERY elusive to me for many a year now.

You posted up a link to a thai version of "I will survive" featured in the Iron Ladies movie some time back. I have been hunting down the mp3 of this song to no avail.

I hope you can point me in the right direction as to where you obtained yours!

I look forward (very much!) to hearing from you.

Warmest regards,
Nicholas
28/06/2008