Category: Blog

08/12/2023 – Pop-Pop the Champagne

August 12, 2023

It’s been With Eyes East tradition on August 12th to celebrate the birthday of Bomi from Apink, but this year, I actually wanted to pivot a bit – not too far – from Apink to Red Velvet. From what I can tell, their 2022 release “Birthday” is considered one of their lesser singles, and it is indeed an oddity like “Zimzalabim” or “RBB.” The video is a total-war assault of bizarreness, without the slightest threat of context for the events or landscapes or creatures. We have a cyclops guy like a Tohl Narita Ultraman monster, a yeti guy from, you know, yetis, and the Gingerbread Man but as a king? It’s like a weird, terrible remix of things that we can sort of place, as if assembled by AI or sheer accident. This is what the K-pop channel looks like within the Videodrome signal. … More 08/12/2023 – Pop-Pop the Champagne

Made in Japan

July 26, 2023

In Little League baseball, the best player on each team was usually the pitcher. It was an observable rule of thumb, similar to the one which held that the worst player in the entire league was me. Unfortunately, I was probably the only Asian player that year – or rather, those years, because I played baseball for far longer than I understood why. So, then, you grow up and observe that it’s different in Major League baseball, that the pitcher usually doesn’t even bat! And by that point, mercifully, the Asian kid is no longer playing sports. Enter Shohei Ohtani, widely considered the best player in professional baseball – maybe ever. For starters, when it comes to his upcoming free agency, the number being bandied about for a contract is half a billion dollars, the highest in history. … More Made in Japan

Two Gods

July 16, 2023

It’s news to me that a Godzilla movie is releasing this year. Now, typically, this has been cause for indigestion, being no fan of the Legendary MonsterVerse. Granted, that new movie bears the title Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which is just goofily sincere enough. Not for me to see, but for something. No, a Godzilla movie is coming down from Toho Studios as well, and it’s entitled Godzilla Minus One. Sounds a lot like the proposed title for the third Jaws movie (Jaws 3, People 0), but there’s a weight behind it. Taking place immediately after World War II, we find Japan at “zero,” and Godzilla’s arrival will bump them down to the negative. I’m not 100% certain, but I believe this is the first Godzilla period piece, and that’s already exciting. … More Two Gods

Casual vs. Stressful Viewing

March 10, 2023

Today is The Glory Day, everyone, which I’ve been excited about for at least a month. I watched the first new episode this morning, and wow, was it scary. I’ve been meaning to write something more substantive about Lim Ji-yeon, because she was so impressive in Part 1, but now having seen her play a kind-hearted character — a doofus, even — in Welcome 2 Life, her transformation here is astonishing. She’s so evil, I just want to sing her praises all day. … More Casual vs. Stressful Viewing

The Weight of a Winner

March 3, 2023

Before I’d seen it for myself, Decision to Leave was my horse in the race for the Palme d’Or. Last year’s Cannes Film Festival was only another opportunity to proclaim my love for Park Chan-wook, a love that hasn’t abated even after a less-than-stellar entry in his catalogue. But I remember reading the list of award winners, and noting that while he won Best Director — and that is one of the best directed films of 2022, for sure — the grand prize went to something called Triangle of Sadness?! Not the best introduction of movie to prospective moviegoer. … More The Weight of a Winner

The Worst Titles of the Year 2022

December 7, 2022

I really had to come around on this. While better than “Predator: Skulls,” which was floating around for a while, “Prey” is way too common a title. Even in one medium – video games – it’s contentious, with a 2006 Prey and a completely unrelated 2017 Prey that had the title foisted upon it. It’s also a movie about lions and a Michael Crichton book about deadly nanoparticles. … More The Worst Titles of the Year 2022