Ahhh, Takashi Miike. For a long time one could just assume that if you were a horror fan or geek, you'd already seen this. But it's been ten years now. Newer and shinier Japanese horror has come, gone, and been mulched into tweener entertainment. Newer Japanese horror conforms to standard plot structure and pacing.
Takashi Miike thinks standard plot structure and pacing are for little girls.
The first time I saw this movie was during a Japanese Horror Film Marathon on DirectTv. I'd just gotten a big-screen, my friend Mike and Lovely Wife sat down to grab some late night horror.
For a while it's ... kind of a romantic comedy. A Widower, still devastated by his wife's death a decade earlier, is urged by his teen-age son to start dating again. His cheerfully amoral TV producer friend concocts a cunning plan. They'll hold auditions for an imaginary TV series in order for our sweet, likable but socially awkward Widower to meet young women.
Hijinks ensue!
If by hijinks, you mean staring at the screen, screaming "What the fuck? WHAT THE FUCK?"
It happens in a moment, in one shot, a tectonic shift in the movie. The train goes off the rails. And the train is on fire, and full of dynamite and naked clowns who live under your bed.
Be aware -- the pacing is glacial, and this is not a shock-horror movie. It's a slow accretion of creepiness. Do not even bother to watch this while there's daylight. This is meant to be watched at midnight, uninterrupted, to let it wash over you. For a good half the viewers, it'll be a "meh." For the half who find just the right night, it's a mood, a tone poem of unease.
No spoilers in the Comments, but feel free to recommend some other horror fun.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Your Entertainment Setup
Ran into an interesting design problem the other day. The house we moved into (it was a flip, old house/new wiring) has one of those iPod docks in the front room. Pop in the iPod, play though speakers built in through the whole house. The CD player and AV receiver running the system are tucked away in a nook, on a shelf just above the stacked washer/dryer units. The wires for the system run from a hole in the wall behind them, into the back of the receiver.
Now of course, you don't need to do a hard-wire hookup anymore -- just connect your A/V receiver up to an Airport Express and stream your music. Which is what I was intending on doing last weekend ...
... until I discovered that the power outlet running the AV receiver was behind the washer dryer stack. No way I'm pulling down a half-ton of machinery to plug in an Airport Express that probably won't fit back there anyway when you replace the washer/dryer. By hiding the power outlets behind the appliances, the designer made the wiring cleaner, simpler -- and utterly un-upgradable. Of course, why would you upgrade? You can hook up your speakers to your iPod! When will we ever invent anything cooler than that?
I theory, I can't even unplug and replace the AV receiver without pulling out those appliances. Remember, when installing anything in your house:
a.) Assume it will break, or you will need to remove it at some point.
b.) Remember you will be pissed off and impatient when doing so. Design backwards, to minimize your own frustration. The longer it takes to make it pretty, the longer it'll take to tear it out it when you need to. When, not if. When.
Actually, let's make this more than a grouse. Your entertainment setup, in the Comments.
Mine is very simple:
-- Sharp Aquos 42'
-- Tivo Series 3 HD (with those accursed Time Warner cable cards that reset themselves every three months). When I moved back to LA, went with Time Warner Cable after years of satellite for the Tivo interface. I have experienced a DVR without the Tivo interface. We will never speak of it.
-- Xbox 360
-- Apple 1Tb Time Capsule/Router
-- Rivet
-- Handbrake
Both the Tivo and Xbox have access to Netflix Streaming, the Tivo also gives access to Amazon VOD and now Blockbuster streaming. The Xbox also plays my ripped media stored on my Time Machine (it's connected by an ethernet cable) through Rivet. Apparently Orb, the stream-everywhere program is now available on Mac, so I'll download it just to give it a try and report back.
Considering getting an OPPO region-free DVD player, but to tell the truth I usually just rip my (personal, legally purchased) foreign DVD's with Mac the Ripper and then convert them to mp4 with Handbrake . *
You can use just Handbrake now, apparently, but I got into the habit of the two step process and some irrational part of me likes breaking the task down into specialized programs for each step. If you have any settings you like for Handbrake, toss 'em in. Tuning Handbrake is a sub-hobby all its own.
No, no Blu-ray. Regular old HD is just fine, thanks. I don't upgrade often, or go for the biggest/most expensive. My fetish for one-bag travelling extends all the way down through my life.
Now of course, you don't need to do a hard-wire hookup anymore -- just connect your A/V receiver up to an Airport Express and stream your music. Which is what I was intending on doing last weekend ...
... until I discovered that the power outlet running the AV receiver was behind the washer dryer stack. No way I'm pulling down a half-ton of machinery to plug in an Airport Express that probably won't fit back there anyway when you replace the washer/dryer. By hiding the power outlets behind the appliances, the designer made the wiring cleaner, simpler -- and utterly un-upgradable. Of course, why would you upgrade? You can hook up your speakers to your iPod! When will we ever invent anything cooler than that?
I theory, I can't even unplug and replace the AV receiver without pulling out those appliances. Remember, when installing anything in your house:
a.) Assume it will break, or you will need to remove it at some point.
b.) Remember you will be pissed off and impatient when doing so. Design backwards, to minimize your own frustration. The longer it takes to make it pretty, the longer it'll take to tear it out it when you need to. When, not if. When.
Actually, let's make this more than a grouse. Your entertainment setup, in the Comments.
Mine is very simple:
-- Sharp Aquos 42'
-- Tivo Series 3 HD (with those accursed Time Warner cable cards that reset themselves every three months). When I moved back to LA, went with Time Warner Cable after years of satellite for the Tivo interface. I have experienced a DVR without the Tivo interface. We will never speak of it.
-- Xbox 360
-- Apple 1Tb Time Capsule/Router
-- Rivet
-- Handbrake
Both the Tivo and Xbox have access to Netflix Streaming, the Tivo also gives access to Amazon VOD and now Blockbuster streaming. The Xbox also plays my ripped media stored on my Time Machine (it's connected by an ethernet cable) through Rivet. Apparently Orb, the stream-everywhere program is now available on Mac, so I'll download it just to give it a try and report back.
Considering getting an OPPO region-free DVD player, but to tell the truth I usually just rip my (personal, legally purchased) foreign DVD's with Mac the Ripper and then convert them to mp4 with Handbrake . *
You can use just Handbrake now, apparently, but I got into the habit of the two step process and some irrational part of me likes breaking the task down into specialized programs for each step. If you have any settings you like for Handbrake, toss 'em in. Tuning Handbrake is a sub-hobby all its own.
No, no Blu-ray. Regular old HD is just fine, thanks. I don't upgrade often, or go for the biggest/most expensive. My fetish for one-bag travelling extends all the way down through my life.
Ezra Klein Wonks So You Don't Have To ...
The first part of his interview with the head of the largest managed health care company in America is here. If you've never been over there before, rip through the archives. Ezra has a remarkably clear writing style, and manages to do an excellent job of translating arcane health care terms into things people can understand.
Assuming you want to understand, and you're not just a crazy person who thinks making sure you don't lose your house when your kid gets sick is the moral equivalent of Dachau.
Assuming you want to understand, and you're not just a crazy person who thinks making sure you don't lose your house when your kid gets sick is the moral equivalent of Dachau.
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