Running Bull Productions proudly presents 2 nights of back-to-back screenings of the digital impressions slide-show trilogy, including the première of a Tibetan travel tale. Following on from where we left off in chunks of China, the third part of the trilogy takes on altitude, a different culture in far flung lands, and concludes the story.

I hope you can make it on either night, Friday the 9th of March or Saturday the 10th of March, from 6pm at my house . The program plan for each evening is :

• 6pm Japan – a year in the life
• 7pm chunks of China
• 8pm a Tibetan travel tale

Please enjoy the poster and YouTube preview (1 minute and 11 seconds) before you see the main feature!

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Before i Forget » LITTLE BECKY – SCHOOL DEMOLITION – All I can say is, I am glad little Becky from Dublin isn’t one of my students! In fact I only had one student to teach today. After watching Bend it like Beckham in class yesterday, I seem to have mastered personalising the lessons for my regular class! Want to try it for yourself, the Bend it like Beckham – movie quiz (PDF)? You have to rent the DVD with your own money!

Next week will be the screening of my digital slide-show chunks of China. Following on from where we left off in Japan – a year in the life, this second part of the trilogy takes on a different approach, a different country, a different culture, and of course it has a different story.

I hope you can make it on the night, this Sunday the 19th of November from 4pm… Meanwhile, the poster and the YouTube preview (55 sec’s) before you see the main feature!

A recent trip to the Robot Bar included more than I bargained for. On Tuesday nights there are free Japanese animation movies projected onto the window curtain screen. I was rather impressed at the quality after watching Appleseed with a couple of friends tonight. This isn’t just bug-eyed Astroboy on steroids. Perhaps an overdose of visuals stolen from The Matrix, Aliens, and two bags full of US military in a post-global nuclear holocaust setting nothing at all like Mad Max, but the message was unique and quite humane. If you haven’t for a while, try some Japanese animation.

Two new friends from Japan made a bet on the Melbourne Cup. What are the odds that two Japanese competitors would win and place second? Highly unlikely, nevertheless it became reality.

Japanese raider Delta Blues has just held out Katsuhiko Sumii-stablemate Pop Rock to win the $5.1 million Group 1 Emirates Melbourne Cup (3200m).

Our friends Takako and Takeshi had a wager on their national steeds and won!

The next day they brought their luck to our house, cooked a delicious okonomiyaki and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark together. Nothing but the best of great food, excellent company and fun entertainment.

Last night we held the opening screening of my digital slide-show Japan – a year in the life. A great night and a big thanks to all who made it. Copies of the (all regions, PAL) DVD are now in the mail. Thank you to the people that made it a lifetime in a year experience for me. Also thanks to my cousin Lynette for motivating me to produce the show. The poster and the YouTube preview for those still waiting to see it.

Is it the end? Not by a long shot. There’s a sequel in the pipeline which takes a different angle and course. The next project aims to cover my tourist-style travelling through China. The final chapter will take us through Tibet, a return to Japan and my odyssey to Australia.

A big budget blow-out for China’s film industry. Wu ji (2005) also goes under the title of The Promise and according to the Internet Movie DataBase, This is the most expensive film in Chinese history with a budget of 282,572,490 Yuan ($35 Million). I bought a DVD of it when I was in Kunming for about 10 or 15 Yuan ($2.44 in Aussie dollars), along with a decent version of the last Jet Li kung fu movie. Do I feel ripped off?

No, not really. But at the same time I’m not raving about it like other awesome DVDs I have acquired. Don’t be sucked in by the great trailer, the script is total shite and as Strider-100 from Gnome, Alaska put it, some scenes and dialog which were absolutely stupid. If you have a thing for costumes or fantasy then you’ll love this film, (Curse of the Golden Flower got a few nominations and awards for costume) otherwise…

A couple of bigs for the Chinese big screen : Gong Li’s bust in Curse of the Golden Flower.

Despite the millions of chrysanthemum flowers, ten thousand soldiers and three prominent male cast (Chow Yun Fatt, Jay Chou and Liu Ye), one thing will capture your attention. Make that two.

Gong Li and her titillating assets have almost overshadowed everything else in the movie. While it may not be historically accurate for 10th Century Tang Dynasty palace females to dress so scantily, director Zhang Yimou obviously wants to make a stylistic statement right from the opening scene.

While the film obviously banks on Gong Li’s bosoms, they shouldn’t distract audience from her exceptional acting. It may be over-the-top at times, but she shows that nobody else can play this vengeful and solitary empress better than her. At this moment, she is the queen of the Chinese cinema.

Better choices : I’d recommend any of Yimou Zhang’s recent releases, or better still, pop around to your video shop to rent another re-run of the Ang Lee classic Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.