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What’s you favorite Edward Yang film? What’s your least favorite?

Nymphia Wind gave us an iconic final lipsync!

This is an interesting drama, and I agree that Taiwan produces fantastic quality film & drama, but why do all the characters in The Victims Game smoke so much, especially indoors. I thought Taiwan has a ban on smoking except out of doors. It's detracting & annoying. Actors don't need a cigarette to portray tension. One or two smokers is normal, but not everyone puffing through almost every scene!

Hajime no ippo i'd say is a must watch, its a boxing anime from around the same time as slam dunk, it has a lot of heart put into its characters, great pacing and animation, made me cry more than once

Also wore number 10

I stopped before episode 5 was over. The show started to make me stressed and everything was very discouraging. I enjoyed Squid Games more since it was better digestible, but I would have to agree with you that this show had further commentary on social class. Thanks for the video.

I think the show is commentating on the depravity of the elite. Those are the people who are funding the show. They want more extreme things to be shown. That’s who floor 7 had to appeal to. Not us the audience. We the audience only have enough power to consume what has been given to us. It is the elite that are in charge of what we see. And that extends to the 8 show itself, and how that power dynamic plays out with the contestants.

Great video thanks! Loved Ripley, so much to take from it. What's your view on the character Freddie? The fact the only character Ripley can't read/control is portrait by a nonbinary actor was interesting.

The main character team is represent the 90s Chicago bulls. The opponent is the San Antonio spurs. The game was a national tournament of Japan high school. Their opponent were a 3 peat champions. That team can beat college players. With number 9 Player have Michael Jordan basketball moves. The whole game was epic in the comics. Finally this movie completed the dream of bring this match to anime movie. Oscar-winning type of a movie. The main character of this movie does not get these much story line in the comics. The comic talks more about his 4 other teammates story lines. So this movie kind of fill in the blank for that. Very well out together movie.

This movie should and winning an Oscar!!!! My childhood

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Sakuragi - Rodman Rukawa - MJ Sendoh - Magic and Bird Sawakita - Penny Hardaway Maki - Magic Johnson

Watched it completely up to episode 6, at which point it got so repetitive and infuriating I had to skip through a majority of the last 2 episodes. Was extremely promising until you watch your main characters basically lose over and over again with little to no lee way. Sad to see how downhill it went and how weirdly gruesome and brutal it got? Thought it was a mix of comedic and drama with a bit of social commentary, then just turn to a weird little torture porn gore fest with no redeeming quality’s

i think the torture porn became too much that i lost interest; like it’s hard to care and became boring. especially when they did the truth and dare again and again. the mind games and outwitting the other team was more interesting overall.

The movie is now on Disney+ and Netflix in Asia... so the hype might be back once again. btw, the opposing team.. is base on a REAL team in Japan high School. Same jersey same color and Same hair cut. as for NBA reference, beside Rodman, there is Jordan, and Robinson, the no.9 on the other team is Penny Hardaway. I agree, this is a master pcs. and thanks for your review. I come back looking for this after a 2nd view on Netflix.

Watched it for the first time. Amazing. Reminds me of a time when movies really meant something to me. Sadly they don’t anymore. I remember art films and the smaller theaters that showed them. Made me feel more sophisticated! I was a Midwestern girl with more refined tastes, or so I thought. I need to set aside time for more movie nights for works of art like this. It’s a lovely, transporting experience I’d forgotten about.

What did you think of “The 8 Show?”

WASTED 4 HOURS FOR THIS CRAP TO KNOW "EVERYTHING IS POINTLESS" AND " EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS" UNTIL U COME TO A POINT, THE WIDE ANGLE SHOT IN CLIMAX INSPIRED ME ,FILM VISUALLY SPEAKS POSITIVE AT THAT POINT SAYING EVERYTHING WILL B OK FROM NOW, CLIMAX SPEAKS OF "HOPE TO LIVE" LIKE ALL DEVASTATED SOULS COMES TO LIFE".FOR THAT SINGLE WIDE ANGLE SHOT WE CAN WASTE 4 HOURS, NOTHING WRONG IN ITS LENGTH.

It wasn't "framed" as being cancelled. They fully set up expectations for a season 2. There was literally a post credit scene teasing the future plot. Like in the Marvel movies. I really want shows to stop spending their final 10 minutes on setup, or ending in cliffhangers. A 2nd season is so unlikely these days so they're just leaving people extra disappointed.

One of my favorites too, watched it as a kid and fell in love with deep foreign films especially chines theatre. So deep tragic and profound The collected stories by the author this movie is based on is equally profound.

Hmm you have too few views. 😆Thank you for your analysis. I don’t agree though that Ripley isn’t talented. I think his talent is just more realistic.

this is such a reach lol.

I'm just wondering why in the first slamdunk movie. Ryota Miyagi seems to be the main character. Kinda mades me think there are 4 movies lined up that to feature the side story of Mitsui, Akagi, Rukawa, and then Sakuragi as the MC. I hope that movie will test if Inou will continue the Slamdunk Manga just like how bleach came back the only difference is Bleach is already done in the manga.

I am probably so late for recommending an anime, but please watch mob psycho 100. It’s one of the best animes ever, and if you get attached to the characters in the slam duck anime, you are definitely gonna love mob psycho’s characters. Mob psycho have a lot of similar ideas to explore about life and friendship, but it is shown in a new and fresh perspective, and in a modern age. And one of the special things about mob psycho is that the original manga have a unique and not perfect style of drawing, but its story really effected the anime staff, and you can see that on how they adapted the anime. They took the animation and the coloring to another level, just to be as faithful to the manga because of how they believed in the story that was told. So, my point is that the anime has a lot of creative and fresh ideas that the production team uses to create even a better experience for people who is watching. And on a final note, it is a short anime that have 3 seasons, and each season is about 13 episodes. And the story actually raps up in a good way and time. It ends in a good time, without being long while making sure to ties all the story points together. Please watch mob psycho 100, I will be wating for your review.

Thanks for reminding me to watch the rest of Ripley! I find Netflix does sometimes create some gems. I started watching the romantic drama One Day on a whim. Never usually watch that genre. I was hooked. Watched the whole thing to the end. I think - as with Ripley - it helps if the source content is high quality. I discovered after watching One Day that it was based on a very popular novel. Perhaps the Netflix execs are more inclined to trust the writers when they're working with something already proven, and they're less likely to push for their tried-and-tested but also tired and hackneyed formulas.

What is you favorite modern TV show?

I'm currently obsessed with these books and I adore the Netflix series. It's sneaky good. I really like how the show pulls in characters and story hints and events from the later books; they are taking advantage of knowing the roapmap for the entire series and laying the ground work now. IMO, that is a very smart way to do an adaptation and very much reminds me of The Expanse series where the authors/writers did the same thing. The friend group thing doesn't bother me in the least. First of all, Cheng Xin, Yun Tianming and Wen Ha from Book 3 were literally a friend group from college, and Luo Ji was a friend of Yang Dong, Ye Wenjie's daughter. What the show did is not really a huge departure from that. But most importantly, in S2 and S3, we won't have to waste time introducing the audience to new characters and trying to give them a reason to care. Spitting main character duties also gives them a chance for dialogue, so exposition and info dumps aren't the only way we learn everything. Poor Wang Miao carried the world on his shoulders and was promptly forgotten by history. Finally, book readers need to understand that the audience for a big-budget TV show is MUCH wider than that of a niche Sci-Fi book series. The show had to simplify the science talk and introduce real emotional, character interactions to keep the attention of the massive audience required to justify the its insane budget. Fortunately, the show was renewed for future seasons, though it seems like it was a close call. Had the show allowed the story to come to a complete halt to talk about turkeys and shooters and pool tables, I doubt that it would have survived. Anyway, just my two cents. Thanks for the video.

Hi, thx for the info. I am getting these lately. No job worth having would contact you via text message.

I think rodman modeled his game to sakuragi. Slam dunk is older than Chicago bull rodman

I’ve been watching Drag Race since season one so I’ve seen every version of the competition there is. I never dreamed it would get as big as it is. It’s wonderful that it’s gone global, that we get to see international competitors and what they can bring to the competition.

One of my all time favourites films especially at this point.

Saying that a touch of sin is banned in China is a bit click-baitey lol However it didn't go mainstream because it was fairly violent indeed. The problem in China is there is no rating system, every movie in the theaters is supposed to welcome adults and kids, thus having a strict mainstream release (meanwhile where I lived in Europe, they will check your age at the entrance, you can't call it "banning" either lol). However this is a VERY popular movie in China, everyone has watched it, and there are many smaller indie movie theaters where they screen it, just not the big mainstream ones.

Exactly my thoughts. The book trilogy introduced me to SF. Haven't stopped reading SF ever since. The chinese show is really good I thought. The Netflix show is garbage. But that was what I expected...

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What's funny about Sakuragi is that he confidently states he's a "basketball genius" from day 1 (regardless he's never played basketball before), and as the story progresses, he ACTUALLY shows he has hidden talent for the sport. Which makes him even cockier! 😄

Great discussion! You brought up interesting points with Star Wars. Those movies were made for the sake of profit rather than for creating art, at least for any Star Wars movie not part of the original trilogy. The original movies are good, even on their own. Unfortunately, greed has tainted the IP a bit with the onslaught of new movies and TV shows, so it leaves many with a sour taste in their mouths. Also found the discussion around ratings interesting. At the end of the day, I feel like ratings don't matter too much because they're arbitrary. Nowadays, I'm more careful, for a lack of a better term, when it comes to doling out 5 stars to certain movies. A movie like Yi Yi is one I gave 5 stars because I loved it for its message and profundity as well as its filmmaking. Basically, if a movie makes me feel giddy about film in general, it'll probably get a 5 or at least 4.5 from me.

Interesting take on the movie. What I might disagree with is your death house vs the revolution analogy. Technically, we don't know when and under what circumstances the woman whose slippers Songlian saw through the keyhole was hanged or hanged herself. Master Chen says that, in past generations, women hanged themselves there. It may not have been a bold-faced lie after all. There's a lot of unhappiness going on on the Chen estate, and Songlian ends up insane. One of her predecessors might have gone insane and hanged herself there. Also, if, before the arrival of Songlian, Master Chen already had one of his wives hanged there, it was likely because of adultery. It seems like this is the only offense in the household that is punished by execution. Songlian is not executed for faking a pregnancy, and not for acting out in the end, either. Given the nature of the punishment, not too many women would have attempted it. Also, who could the previous wife have cheated with? And where? Meishan had earned herself some privileges by giving birth to a son the Master was very fond of, and because the Master liked her as an artist. And perhaps her love-making skills, too. (In the book, Chen favors Zhuoyun in that regard, though.) She was allowed to leave the estate without the Master, and she made use of that for a tryst in a hotel. This way or another, the wives living on the estate avoid the death house and act like it doesn't exist, an act of emotional self-defense. In Communist China, all classes were constantly reminded of the revolution, it was always at the center of attention (the death house is somewhere on the sideline, barely visible from Songlian's back yard) and I think members of all classes cherished it in some way, something you cannot say about the death house. Well, perhaps Zhuoyun, because it serves as a means to her goal when it comes to eliminating Meishan, but I think it speaks for itself that she goes back into her house once she sees Meishan being carried there (to her satisfaction) and closes her eyes to the dirty work that is about to happen there. In this regard, the death chamber is to her what the abbatoir is to typical meat-eaters. They would never go there, they could never do the dirty work themselves, but they appreciate what is done there for them. -- I like your Yaner vs the peasants in Communist China analogy. Yaner actually is literally a peasant...and one of the most miserable characters in the story. What is interesting is that while she seeks the favors of Master Chen and wants to be more than an occassional mistress, she rebels against him by secretly lighting lanterns in her quarters. Her being punished by Yuru in the movie (in the book, Songlian tortures her to death by making her eat used toilet paper) fits your Yuru vs government officials analogy, though. What is interesting that while Songlian avenges herself on Yaner consciously (both in the book and in the movie), she betrays Meishan by negligence. In the movie, she is drunk, and in both the movie and the book she is not aware of what kind of punishment Meishan is to expect if she were to be caught.

Great episode introducing & analysing Nymphia Wind & the drag show race to ppl who are new to this genre like me.

Good point about the show

NO you fool more people watch the Olympics. If you mean gay/queer viewers then maybe.

I've only have read/listened to the 2nd / 3rd book, after watching the show. I find the show is kind of like an extroverted person and the books are introverted persons. They have completely different ideas on how to have fun. E.g. how the show pictured the VR headset and the whole experience around it is an awesome way to depict how advanced the Trisolaris aliens are. On the other hand I rarely see people in comments exchange ideas about the sci-fi parts of the books series. Oftentimes it's about "omg I hate Auggie she is such a b*#$$" and then I'm like - Is THAT really the most thought provoking part to you?

I also loved the books, and to be frank, this looks like garbage to me. Zero interest in watching it. In particular, the way they combined characters across all 3 books into buddies and the way you describe that as creating some kind of rom-com dynamic just sounds utterly cringe to me. And I think you're spot on that it's insulting to the audience to think that there won't be engagement without this "hot friends hanging out" dynamic; particularly given the relative intellectual heft of the source material. At the risk of making this comment too long , I just have to share a very relevant excerpt from an excellent review of this series, that also places it in a broader context of the exchange between Western and Chinese media: "All five characters are childless and generally unattached from family concerns, which makes for a striking contrast with Wang Miao. The Tencent adaptation never lets you forget that he has a family to consider. The Oxford Five are individual, rational agents whose lives are almost entirely intellectual and economic. They are laid-back, science-loving, cool-ironic, global citizens imbued with liberal values and free from any dangerous radical or traditional dogmas. Auggie Salazar briefly falls into alcoholism, but it’s just a lifestyle choice-her health doesn’t suffer, and her hair still looks great. I suspect many American television executives and Oxbridge alumni alike would believe that the members of this jolly band of mates are living fairly ordinary lives." The entire review as a whole makes for excellent reading, in case anyone wants to check it out chajournal.blog/2024/04/29/3-body-problem/

Thanks for articulating so well the same problems I have with the Netflix version. Have you watched the Chinese version from Tencent? Would be interested to hear what you think of it as a comparison. The Chinese detective is excellent in that. Would also love for you to review the books.

What did you think of the "3 Body Problem" Netflix show?

China and America is the worsted country and bad they always wanted people to die and rules over them not only there country instead all around the world why we people are sleeping not raise our voice together

Thank you for your efforts on this review. I have watched the series on 3 days and most of the points you mentioned resonate with me. I personally like the slow build up and it attracts me to watch a movie and a show, specially when I see potential, that's why I didn't mind it. I would like to add something but I am not sure how to express it. The transition between English and mandarin/Taiwanese mid conversations didn't feel right to me. Sometimes it is justified, but many times I don't understand the switch. What do you say? And yes, I felt that the show writers lost their compass at the end. And didn't know how to end the show.

Where can we see shorts like this?

There is a question of tone in the film, agreed... but this is such a simplistic reading of the movie, Taiwanese humour and the work of Giddens Ko. To write it off as "wouldn't it be crazy if we did this..." shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Giddens' style and well established story structure.

Let me know what scams you have encountered