4 posts tagged “sanfrancisco”

If you're not reading Lisa Katayama's Tokyomango blog, shame on you. It's really good, has all kinds of awesome links, and managed to do the impossible - get me to the theater (again), get me to go to the Opera Plaza Theater on Van Ness (hitherto considered impossible) and see a movie called Yo Yo Girl Cop (aka Sukeban Deka).

Ok, so that last part sealed the deal. You didni't think I'd pass up a chance to see ass-kicking fighting chicks in a film directed by one of the makers of Battle Royale, now, did you?

Seeing a film like this in a theater on a dreary Sunday, as weather sucked and totally delayed my upcoming new feature on the N-Judah Chronicles in a little out of the way theater like the O.P. is as much an experience as the film itself, due to the odd assortment of folks there to see what is essentially a manga come to life. There were the following:

-the two hipster older guys who were talking about the "Star Wars" episode of Robot Chicken
-the Japanese couple in their 70s
-an assortment of random indie moviegoers who frequent Landmark type theaters, most of whom were there to see something else and saw this instead (or by mistake)
-the two dudes at the front of the theater who had to make sure all of us know how much they thought the upcoming "Lady Chatterly's Lover" film from France will suck (thanks guys, we appreciate the insight, no really)
-the chick with the "Cowboy Bebop" bag (come on that is just cool, I mean seriously....)
-and of course, the guy in the black shirt....

So, when our lead character, a super crime fighting gal who's undercover in a Japanese high school trying to solve The Mystery of The Chick Who Got Blown Up in Tokyo, armed only with her strength, wits, and a yo yo of doom, the audience reaction provided as much entertainment as the movie itself, which was fine.

One could tell Kenta Fukasaku (co director of BR and son of the legendary director Kinji Fukasaku) made this film, and for me that's all I really need. Battle Royale however, still remains an all time favorite. If you've ever had a really crappy day at work, watching this is way better thearpy than say, crack cocaine.

Usually I see this sort of thing at home, on the home theater, if only because it's kind of hard to explain when that 10.50 ticket for "Yo Yo Girl Cop" falls out of your wallet. I really only went because knowing Netflix and their time-distortion delays when it comes to releasing certain foreign films in our lifetime, I figured this was the best way to see it.

If you get a chance, check it out, but don't delay if y're all interested. I made that mistake with Daywatch and missed the darn thing before I could see it......sigh....but that's another post...

I spent most of Saturday on an impossible quest - finding a decent 1 bedroom apartment in the Inner Sunset (or anywhere in the Sunset near the N, for that matter). This seach has been going on for some time now, but with all the condo/TIC conversions in the area, plus the fact that most flats/houses are 2/3 bedroom, means that finding something that's not a cheap "in-law" or a rundown vermin abode is not easy.

After Yet Another Saturday spent looking at everything from the Craptacular Special on Judah St., to the Building With the Manager Who Talks Way Too Much About the Residents' Personal Lives, The Worst Building Near UCSF, and more, I was ready to turn off reality for a few hours. So I took the N to the 22 and ended up in Japantown, and at the new Sundance Kabuki Theater (about halfway done with the remodel). Noting the times, I decided to go see Ocean's 13, with the option to see Paprika afterwards. Just what I needed.

Ocean's 13 is fine. It is not Sense and Freakin' Sensibility, and there are no lessons learned in said film, nor is it likely to have the level of angst and whatnot some people demand of every film made. It is, however, a well-made "fun" movie. Ocean's 11 is still the best of the series, in that it took a very crappy film, discarded all but the name and general concept, and made a fun film. Ocean's 13 does the same thing, but since we've seen the joke once, it's not quite as original as the first, but it still works, especially if you've spent 6 hours standing and walking around western SF.

I hadn't planned my Saturday, and when I got out, realized that I could see Paprika as well. Many times these anime feature films come and go through the theaters so fast, if you do not see them right away, you don't get to see them until the US DVD comes out, which is often years later. Sure, there's the internets, but well, you know.

Paprika is the latest film from director Satoshi Kon, and as always it is an unusual film, to say the least, and one best seen on a big screen. To try and recount the plot would do it a disservice, since it really is a basic one, but combined with the way Kon tells the story, and the sheer visual mass on screen, it becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

If you haven't already done so, check out his other films, especially Perfect Blue, a Hitchcock style thriller that was originally slated to be a live action film, but had its budget cut, and Millennium Actress both of which are on DVD. Also good are Tokyo Godfathers and the 12 episode series Paranoia Agent, which was on Adult Swim, but was butchered with the usual bad dubbing of English.

When they finally finish the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas this summer, it will really be a great place to see a film, with reserved seating, 2 bars, a restaurant, and really nice seats (already installed), and more, sort of like the famous Arclight Cinemas in Los Angeles. It'll definitely beat the run of the mill craptacular theaters we put up with here in SF.

This posting will appear at my "real" blog, GregDewar.com - I'm just trying out something late at night. Enjoy!

While reading about all those new shows on TV everyone's talking about, I could not help but notice how many are set in San Francisco. I find this entertaining for two reasons. One is that I'm always happy to see a film set in my hometown and am a walking encyclopedia of film locations (Heck, I could offer tours for Bullitt, Vertigo, and Tales of the City, to name a few). The other is that it once again reinforces what I've learned about the infamous San Francisco/Los Angeles "feud" - while people in San Francisco are quick to rip into L.A., folks down south really like Our Fair City, unaware of said emotion-filled feud.

Now, it seems, L.A.'s being in like with us has filtered into Hollywood decisionmaking. So far, in addition to the return of Monk(which pretends to be in SF but is filmed down south), there are at least three fall series coming up set in San Francisco. They are:

-- NBC's Journeyman, about a guy who finds out he can phase back and forth in time. Superficially similar to the infamous "Quantum Leap," the preview featured an only-in-San-Francisco moment: waking up to find a Real Cable Car is about to run over your head. However, it also had a scene where you can see the inimitable Los Angles flag flying in the background.

-- ABC's Eli Stone, about a hardass lawyer who starts seeing "visions," and thinks he's a prophet. Loyal readers of the N-Judah Chronicles may remember the pictures I took when they were filming earlier this year.

-- ABC's Women's Murder Club, based on the novel by James Patterson. Basically, it seems like it's Sex In the City meets Law and Order, or something. Again, they have obligatory shots by the bridge, because as we all know, all murders in SF happen within spitting distance of The Bridge.

Being the kind of person I am, I'll be checking out each to see how badly they screw up geography (think the car chase in Basic Instinct) and the like. That said, I have to say that I'm happy to see our fellow citizens Down South like our city so much they want to at least pretend to set TV shows here.

None, however can compare to my all-time favorite, The Streets of San Francisco, which was  entirely filmed on location in San Francisco. Sure, there were a few times they filmed near my childhood home in Burlingame, but so what? At least it was north of Fresno.

This was possible only because Quinn Martin was committed to filming in San Francisco, and built a soundstage on property owned by real estate developer Ron Kaufman on the waterfront. Since then, there has been no permanent sound stage in the Bay Area available for TV or film production. That's why most of these shows come into town for a short time, film all their exterior shots, and leave.

Lately, it's been fashionable for politicians, and wannabe politicians to talk about how a measly tax credit will somehow make giant mega-corporations move film production to Our Fair City. It makes for lovely mail pieces and sounds great. Hey! We're doing something for "jobs" in town! Yay us!

The problem is, though that a) these "tax credits" haven't worked out as promised and b) the California cities experiencing a boom in film production all have sound stages.

Until we get some sound stages and the like, the chances of bringing lots of "jobs" and a plethora of film and TV production to our city, no matter how picturesque it is, are not that great. Which is too bad, since I was really hoping someone would do a Battlestar Galactica-like reimagining of "Streets of San Francisco" and do it right.

The politicker that gets that done, gets my vote for sure!

If you haven't already checked this site out, go now, to this site, and check out the anime style version of The Simpsons, Futurama, and more. No, really, you want to do this. It ranks up with the now famous Battlestar Galactisimpsons pics, one of which I used for my profile pic on Netflix. (Yeah, I know. - yet another site that requires 100x100 profile pics!)

Most of this weekend was New Caprica-esque bleariness, so I took advantage of the weather to catch up on all the mostly legal videos I had been saving for such a day. I finally saw the final 2 episodes of "24" almost a week later. "24" sucked bigtime this year - it's obvious the writers were just rolling hex dice and coming up with lame plot twists. I cannot tell you how bizarre it is for me to say this - this is like a heroin addict putting down the kit, saying "No more buttered scones for me Major, I'm off to play my grand piano, I am forsaking the smack for a glass of water." But it is easy to do when the show sucks.

I also watched the latest episdoe of Dennou Coil (which I mentioned earlier) and the latest 2 episodes of Yet Another Anime Series On TV In Japan, Darker Than Black . I can watch all of this and not be welded to my TV because I really don't watch a lot of "regular" TV anyway (and especially now that LOST, Battlestar Galactica, Heroes are off the air), and I usually just hold them on my hard drive until a dreary day comes along.

I also made a stop at Comix Experience on Dvisadero to pick up the most recent Love and Rockets comic by the Hernandez brothers. I started collecting this comic in 1989 when I was in school at Santa Cruz after seeing the film "Comic Book Confidential." Curious, I bought an issue of Love and Rockets (volume 1) and was rather puzzled by it, since the comic was in the middle of a very involved plotline. I got addicted to the series almost immediately, and have been buying the issues and the books ever since.

Oddly enough there are very few constants in my adult life, given that I've lived in a number of cities, and held all sorts of unique jobs, but one thing that I could always count on was finding time to go to a good comic store and buying the latest L&R, Hate, or Eightball. It is still kind of strange tothink that I've been doing this for almost 20 years, though.

However, I have no intention of stopping, especially not now. I figure that when the System collapses and we're all bartering for stuff, the guy with the generators and water purifiers will be a big Fantagraphics fan and I'll be all set.