Letters and Lurve (a coupla film reviews)

Letters from Iwo Jima

I was rather surprised that Kanako actually picked this one out at the video store not being a fan of war movies and all. Just in case you haven't heard it's the second in pair of movies about the battle of Iwo Jima at the end of WW2. The first part, which we haven't seen, was told from the American point of view and focused on the marines and sailors who were in the famous photo of the raising of the flag on the top of Mount Suribachi. 'Letters' is told from the Japanese side and focuses on two main characters, the general in charge of the island's defense and a young conscript who doesn't exactly relish the thought of being trapped on the island with no chance of escape.

If you watched this expecting a great 'war' movie you would probably go away a bit disappointed especially if you saw it on the small screen like we did. For pure visceral action 'Private Ryan' is much better (even if the story got a bit far-fetched at times) but I don't think that was the kind of movie Clint was trying to make. 'Letters' is a much more human story. For the first time, World War Two Japanese are characterized as more than two-dimensional, banzai shouting suicidal stereotypes (although there are scenes of banzai shouting and multiple suicides within). After years of John Wayneist imagery it was refreshing (in a gruesome, blood soaked way) to finally see and hear things from the other side. Sure, a large percentage of the garrison did kill themselves or mount futile charges against the encircling Americans, but the motivations behind such actions are explained to a certain degree as well as exploring what the 'other' guys were thinking and feeling.

Clint's message, delivered not-so-subtly when the Japanese soldiers read some letters found on a dead GI, is not overly profound but nonetheless important. That is, that despite different nationalities and ideologies when it comes down to it the average 'grunt' in the trenches and his family back home have the same simple wish, to return home safely and soon. As an aside, it was interesting to note that the last surviving Japanese soldier's name was Saigou, which, amongst other things, translates as 'last' or 'final'.

Love Story

An oldie but a goodie this one. Panned by a lot of critics and full of genre staples such as characters from different social classes and disapproving parents I still love this film despite being an avowed cynic when it comes to romantic movies.

Perhaps one reason is that we find out that the female character has just died in the very first scene and then leap backwards in time from there. Perhaps it's because Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw seem to have had a real chemistry and personalities. Kanako and I both agree that 70's heart-throb turned Naughteys lard-ass O’Neal really seems infatuated with Jenny something missing from more recent Tom Ryan/Meg Hanks outings.

It's not without it's flaws especially the choppy editing and the slightly cheesy catchphrase 'Love means never having to say you're sorry' but still, in my humble opinion, one of the best I've seen in a genre which is generally devoid of anything really meaningful. Unashamedly emotionally manipulative but hey it’s a love story. Duh!

Busted!

D'oh! I was on my way home the other day from work when I blundered into a Police speed trap and was pulled over. Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!!! There goes my clean licence. 58kph in a 40kph zone is hardly Grand Theft Auto territory but the local plods weren't having any of my excuses/reasoning even if it was on a deserted stretch of road, down an incline and miles from the nearest pedestrian. Curses!



I don't even have the slight satisfaction of whingeing about being singled out for being a foreigner as three Japanese were caught in quick succession right after me. Nor can I go on about them being fascist bully boys, they were actually very polite and well mannered unlike that hollywood movie cop wannabe %&#@* (complete with mirrored sunglasses) who pulled my mate Ben and I over all those years ago on our way to watch ‘Macbeth’ in Auckland. Oh well, I'll just have to be angry at myself for being so dumb:-(

Rant over!

More Pix

I've added loadsa photos over at flickr.com. You have probably seen most of them before but check them out anyways and leave your comments.

Tons of photos

What's new? Part 3

It's hard to believe but our little man Joshie is already 3 (see photos from his birthday party here). The so called 'Terrible Twos' are now behind us, so in Japan that means it's time for kindergarten. Being Japan however, kindy is not exactly like it is back in New Zealand. First of all, it's 5 days a week from 9am to 2pm and secondly, the kids wear uniforms. Yep, that's right, uniforms! Nothing modern or practical either. Think the Von Trapp kids in the ‘Sound of Music’ and you will get a pretty good idea (see Joshie von Trapp here). Despite looking like a refugee from a Prussian military academy Joshie really seems to enjoy it. The presence of his cuzzie/accomplice/fellow monkey Hideyo helps a lot too.

As for the rest of us, Kanako is working at her Mother's clinic while her sister Asako is on maternity leave and I am doing some freelance teaching at a couple of companies. Kanako will go back to Uni part time from July to finish her Post-grad research (into possible genetic markers/causes of preelampsia) and I'll keep teaching 'till there's no-one left to teach. I must say corporate teaching is pretty different to teaching at a school. The hours are short, the money is good and there's no 'boss' to speak of, which suits me just fine but on the other hand there's not much security, the classes are pretty big and not always quite as motivated. Still, shouldn't grumble it beats flipping burgers:-)

Anyways, that's about it for major developments in the Koishi-Pryor-verse so I'll sign off there.

What's new? Part 2

After Joshie and I got back from Aotearoa and Kanako got back from the Frozen North we had only a week to catch our breath before we had to move to Toyohashi. We had originally planned to move at the end of the month but we couldn't book a moving truck at that time for love or money so we had to bring the date forward by nearly two weeks. Despite the change in schedule the big move went off without any problems... nearly.

Our new place is a lot smaller than our old one with only a fraction of the storage space. Being a family of hoarders we have accumulated a lot of junk over the years so we were nearly buried by boxes. Luckily Mama Koishi let us stash some of our trove at her place so that we could actually move around our new digs.

Hopefully the move to our house (we told you about the house we are building, right?) at the start of August will be less stressful and go a bit smoother.

What's new? Part 1

Where should I begin? The last month or so has been a bit of a whirlwind for the three of us. To say that have changed a bit around here is a bit of an understatement. There have been trips back to New Zealand, graduations, sudden moves across the prefecture, new jobs and kindergarten all within the last four or five weeks.

Why don't we start with our trip back to Aotearoa? This time around it was only Joshie and I heading to the Southern Hemisphere as Kanako had to jet off to Sweden to attend a conference. I must say Joshie travelled really well, so well in fact that his grumpy old Dad actually managed to get a little sleep on the plane. That is, until we were descending into Christchurch when he decided to suddenly regurgitate his breakfast all over himself and Dad. A word of advice, greasy bacon, sloppy, cheesy omelets, two year olds and air travel don't mix.

The rest of the trip went much better however. After a couple of days chilling out at Nana and Poppa's we headed down to Wellington to see Judith and Dan. The last time I had seen them both they weren't yet married and Joshie was but a twinkle in his Dad's eye. Auntie Judith and Joshie got on like a house on fire. Generally Joshie's pretty shy around strangers and even with adults he knows he isn't overly friendly, but after a day together he was asking Jude to hold hands and carry him, a privilege usually only reserved for Kanako and I. Despite the changeable weather Wellington was brill and I can see why Jude and Dan like it so much and why Peter Jackson won't leave it for Hollywood (by the way, we saw his house).

The rest of the time we spent back in Hamilton doing some hard-core shopping (for kids books and toys) and catching up with everyone. The whole Northern-Southern hemisphere thing worked well for us too. While Mum was chilling out in an Ice Bar in Stockholm Joshie got in lots of paddling pool time at Nana and Poppa's and with his cousin Julie. Juliet Elizabeth is definitely one of Joshie's favourite people even if she is a "bit" bossy at times:-) and the two of them had great fun tearing round various locales in the greater Waikato creating mayhem. I also got to catch up with my mates Roger and Troy too and my little/big bro' Kevin.

As always, one of the best things about being back was the scoffing. I don't know what it is but food just seems to taste better in New Zealand. The lamb, the cheese, the veggies. All of it. The tastes and varieties of food are also so different to back here in Japan too. Oddly enough, I put on a kilo or two while I was back thanks to monster size (i.e. normal Kiwi servings) portions of Hell pizza, BBQ lamb, Mexican and Malaysian to name but a few. We also stocked up on some necessities too for the return home.

This time we were also home for Mum's birthday (March 9th) which was really nice. I have missed out on countless birthdays,Easters and Christmases since I have been away which is one of my few regrets about my whole time in Japan. Next time we will definitely have to try and get the whole clan together in the same place at the same time for once.

So, all in all, a fantastic trip back to Aotearoa. and hopefully one we will be able to repeat in the not too distant future.

To see lotsa lovely photos of our trip click this link:

New Zealand Trip photos

Photos, photos everywhere...

I've just spent the best part of two hours uploading tons of pix, both old and new, over at flickr.com. Go on over (see links below) and check 'em out. Have a chuckle, download your faves and leave comments.
Cheers
Mike

Christmas and New Year Photos

In New Zealand 2007

Joshie's 3rd birthday

Cherry Blossom Viewing

Joshie's first day at Kindergarten

My Graduation

P.S. There's more to come tomorrow too!

In the beginning...

Hi there everyone! Welcome to my blog. Now, just like everyone else out there I've got my own little piece of cyberspace to populate, blather on about myself in, rant in etc etc. Once you have finished reading my pearls of wisdom feel free to leave your comments here too for the rest of the world to see.

I really hope this will be a place where all my friends and family can drop by and check out what I've been up to. And I promise to do my best to keep it up-to-date too. Unfortunately, as you probably know that promise isn't likely to last very long so please bare with me, I will try.

You can also go over to check out some of my photos over at flickr.com .

Just in case you forgot what your erstwhile host looks like:




















There you go, first post done.
Cheers
Mike