I started working on F is for Film back in June of last year. It was supposed to come out at the end of the summer, but between a virus that wiped out my friend’s computer and our day jobs it got delayed until 2009. But the New Year brings new hope for F. Our YouTube Channel is open and the first glimpse teaser clip is up.

As usual, it started from a very simple idea = practice on camera acting with a cheap-o movie review/skit show. And then one day it took a turn for the bizarre.

I hope you enjoy. I’ll have more info on a release date soon.

Anyone else watch NHK’s annual Kouhaku Utagassen this New Years?

It was certainly a mixed bag. They trotted out the same decrepit Enka acts whose performances seem each successive year to be less about the songs than the garish costume oneupsmanship. But if anything the show belonged to Ohashi Nozomi who is just about the most angelic child performer I’ve ever seen. She opened the show and it was a smart choice. Also smart? Bringing on Nakama Yukie for hostess duties, although neutered of her usual character humor, she was competent and easy on the eyes. Her co-host Nakai-kun was also a cool choice because he spent most of his time ragging on the fly-by-night acts of the evening, suggesting in his dry manner that their fifteen minutes was up. Speaking of which…. the humor was painful. It’s hard to jump in when you haven’t lived with the trends for a year but, even still… this year seemed even more lowest common denominator than usual. Does Japanese comedy not evolve anymore? Is it just catchphrase after catchphrase combined with some kind of ridiculous furitsuke? I can’t choose the worst offender but the Gentlemen, or The Trannies (not the acts real names) were both unwatchable even in their limited roles. Again, thank you Nakai-kun. Now if only I could get you to stop singing.

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NOTHING FANCY, JUST A COLD HARD LIST

Feel free to share your lists in the comments.

10. Slumdog Millionaire -traditional Hollywood gangster pic/epic romance dressed up by energetic, pulse pounding filmmaking. I still liked Millions better.

9. Forgetting Sarah Marshall - In a movie with a double dip of pixie sticks in Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, the best part was actually Russel Brand and muppet vampires.

8. Doubt - Oddly humorous and lively for a story about possible child abuse by a priest. It’s a little stagey though which keeps it from being a “great” film.

7. Iron Man - I want to be Iron Man. I would have never said that before Robert Downey jr., Gwyneth and director Jon Favreau brought these characters from the also-ran comic alive with heart and wit.

6. Role Models/Step Brothers - I couldn’t pick which was funnier. I’m leaning towards Role Models which has kids and adults both behaving badly, but Will and John are an unbeatable comic tsunami.  See them both.

5. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Not as good as Zodiac, but Fincher’s still got it. A little too Gumpish at times perhaps but it got me.  It may be too soon to know if the film has legs.

4. Gran Torino - I love the way Clint Eastwood scowls through this movie. I love the Mung culture too and his interactions with it.

3. The Wrestler - This is just a cool ass movie. This and Rachel Getting Married are very similar in that they just seem to happen, and you’re a fly on the wall to these characters. I choose this over Rachel just because I’d rather be at a wrestling match than a wedding.

2. The Fall - I bet a lot of you skipped this one. It’s very odd, very beautiful and if not for my love of the Dark Knight my favorite film of the year. The performance of the little girl is unlike any child actor I’ve ever seen before - a very good thing.

1. The Dark Knight - You know why.

Honorable Mention - Wanted (preposterous and jaded), Rachel Getting Married (Anne Hathaway owned), Snow Angels (The depressingest time of the year), Wall-E (I like Ratatouille better to be honest), Indiana Jones 4 (Flawed but oh so watachable), Speed Racer (so ambitious, this one gets the “nice try!” award) , Cloverfield (they did a lot of cool things with this gimmick), Quantum of Solace (if it hadn’t been quite so James Bourne it would have been a classic), and W. (Which was a great punchline). Oh and I almost forgot early season favorites like Definitely, Maybe (Don’t you just want to eat Isla Fisher up?) and Be Kind Rewind (Which was the film of my soul).

Inevitable Movie I missed That Someone Will Say Needs to be on this List: Synedoche New York, Man on Wire, Let the Right One In, Frost/Nixon.

Worst: Meet Dave or 10,000 BC. Both are extremely lifeless.

The House Bunny is an important 21st Century artifact. It marks the ascension of Anna Faris from Scary Movie ditz to a slightly more mature, interesting ditz. Forget Tina Fey. She’s the actress who makes me laugh the most for better or worse.

Updated the pics section with a silly photo we took while shooting a parade near Santa Land in Boonton. Which is unpronounceable as anything but Boo-ton or Boo Town. I claim it in the name of the boo.

Quality sucks cause it was taken with a piss poor cell camera.

Mr. Children - Rock n’ Roll

lost in fantasy,
a day goes by
I wonder where I’d be if I had chosen a different life…?
I’d live free of restraints, free of rules
blown by a roaming wind
I’d go against the flow

it’s the very picture of rock n’ roll
drowning to death in women and booze
I know, I know
it’s not my nature, I’m not equipped for it
I know, I know
but I can’t help yearning for a life like that.

I’ll stay unmarried, in love with my loneliness
I won’t consider the consequences
they’ll call me a fool.

in order for rock stars to make a living
they have to play up this “free of restraint” image
I know, I know
that no matter what you do it’s never easy
I know, I know
but my heart is searching for freedom and stimulation

wallowing in the sounds of Rock n’ Roll
again today, I turn up the volume
I know, I know
this life I live is the one best suited to me
I know, I know
people need others to survive.

I LOVE YOU

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

Mr. Children - Tokyo

this is a city of buildings like robots,
emblematic of Tokyo.
Each new day, crawling with workers
who give it their all, who do the best they can.
waiting for the light to change. I stop, someone’s whistling
the melody is all broken up
but for some reason it soothes me a little.

scenery so full of memories,
will be destroyed again, so I’m trying my best not to cling to them
yet, this smell reminds me
and records it in my genetic code
there are places I hold dear in this city
there are people I hold dear in this city

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

When I listened to this without paying attention what was said, I thought it was a sappy love song. I didn’t realize it was a heartbreaker.

Mr. Children - Suijyou Bus (Water Taxi)

on my brand new bike,
I pedal myself out of breath, heading towards the pier
the wind I breathe in large gasps
smells a little like oil
floating along that massive river.

You spy me from inside the water taxi
and from amidst the tourists you wave to me with a smile
in order to turn back the clock on such serene scenes
I pedal my bike alone
along the river’s edge.

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

Mr. Children - Kuchi ga Subette (I Said Something I Shouldn’t Have)

I said something I shouldn’t have, and made you angry
but I wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t want to apologize.
I know. It’s a bad part of me.
It’s one of my faults.

“I have things I’m unwilling to give up too”
I lock them up, even though no one’s coming to take them.
I know. It’s really that I’m weak
and that I refuse to admit that.

you can’t get things to go as planned
so I’ll raise your spirits by humoring and flattering you
by saying what you want to hear.
It grieves another side of me to see me so
because “kindness” isn’t the only thing that’s been fostered…

the battle rages on, the blood runs
the papers report on the disputes between nations
I know. It’s not something so simple
it can be handled with “that’s tough.”

everyone has things which are important to them
each with our own perspective, our own happiness and our own way of living
they say to “think about how another person would feel”
but the heart is way beyond our understanding.

a shooting star vanishes, in a blink it’s gone
if I have the chance again,
next time I going to use my wish
for someone other than myself.

I said something I shouldn’t have, and made you angry
but before you know it, we’re back to smiling again
we knew it,
that we were born with the power to forgive one another.
for now let’s leave it at that
that’s the good part of humanity.

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

Mr. Children - Shuumatsu no Confidence Song (Confidence Song for The End)

*a work in progress perhaps? Unsure of some of the subjects in the sentences.

It didn’t have the impact that garners critical acclaim,
but you know, it was a good movie anyway.
You cried a little there didn’t you? I noticed,
’cause I did too.

gossip is strewn all over the city
we all ignite it, for the fun of it
in exposing these inferior fools for what they are
we get some relief.

this air of annoyance is stepping on the cuff of my pants
I’m sure there’s a way to escape from the danger that lies ahead
if only I were to stop but…
Oh No!
The flame!
Let the pale blue flame in your eyes
light the murky path before you
the road continues on.

with a click, a drag and a rock n’ roll
we can get anything want
from those things we can’t live without, to those we can
so, we’ll cross without paying attention
and move forward arrogantly
over civilization’s grace.

sometimes I dream an ominous dream
I’m running but I’m getting nowhere.
maybe the dream is a metaphor
for something that’s going on in my real life?
Oh No!
it’s going faster than I ever imagined
Are you ready to face the enemy,
that’s rapidly closing in?
not unlike Don Quixote.

I can’t plant my feet here, when I feel like I’m walking on clouds.
How long can you really hold on? On this earth.
Nowhere !?
This air of annoyance is kicking at the heel of your high heels.
I’m sure there’s a way to escape from the danger that lies ahead
if only you could turn back but…
Oh No!
The flame!
Let the pale blue flame in your eyes
light that precarious path before you
the road continues on
Yes, it will continue. 

The critics aren’t wrong but,
if you can figure out what’s happening
right before our eyes
without trying to see the bright or dark side
then raise those eyes
that look down at your feet
with pride!

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma