July 27, 2008

Speed Racer + Sex and the City

As I mentioned in Tokyo Movie Experience Part 3, I went to see Speed Racer! I'm planning to go see it one more time at the movie theater. Yopiko, a huuuuge fan of Jin Akanishi and one of the most prominent fan blogger, went to see the movie twice! Some fans say they saw it three times! I admire their enthusiasm.

I fully enjoyed Jin's voice acting for Speed Racer and the movie itself, of course. My favorite line is, "What should I do with you?" Speed calmly talks to his car when it's stopped, trying to figure out what to do next with the gear. Speed's (Jin's) heavy breathing right after the race is incredibly sexy. Jin's voice is a gem!

I watched on TV that Jin and Emile Hirsch (aka Speed) chatted in English at the press conference in Tokyo. In the photo session, Jin helped Emile with interpretation because photographers gave instructions to them in Japanese. (Source: oricon style 7/21 issue, 2008) Among Japanese male celebrities, who else can communicate with Hollywood stars in English? All I can think of are Masi Oka and Ken Watanabe. Jin was so stunning on the stage that he looked like a Hollywood star to me. Check out this video. Other related videos were already deleted.

Sex and the City will finally open on August 23 in Japan. This is a flyer that I got at the movie theater. Flyers are available at theaters and we can get information on upcoming movies. It's a popular PR tool in Japan to get moviegoers back to the theater.

Have you seen the movie? How do you like it? Guess what, I love the series so much that I watched all of the episodes. I like not only its fashion but also the way it portrays women's friendship. I even have the SATC official guidebook, "Kiss and Tell." The book has a lot of funny pages, including who they "did" and "didn't."

I'm sorry to say this to Carrie's fan, but I often get annoyed by her for some reason. I love her shoes, though. :) I want to be a woman who is sort of half Miranda and half Charlotte. Smart and beautiful. Have a good balance of being logical and emotional. Who do you like most? I can't wait to see SATC the movie!

8 comments:

Meghan said...

It sounds like the Japanese version of Speed Racer is better than the English version! I'm glad for Jin fans though.

I haven't seen Sex and the City yet but it did VERY well in the States. Women flocked to see it and there's already buzz about another movie coming out.

Karen said...

Speed Racer is very popular at least among Jin's fans like me. :) I hope Jin will appear in a Hollywood film as an actor, not a voice actor, in the near future.

Buzz about another SATC movie coming out? Maybe I should fly to the US to see SATC 2 so that I don't have to wait for months next time.

Christian Aaron said...

Wow, its good to hear that Speed Racer did so well in Japan, because in the USA it was a major flop - I think! It came out... and then it was gone. I never heard anything about it.

As for SATC, it was a really great movie - especially for us diehard fans. Right before the movie came out a few of us got together and watched a few of our favorite episodes in preparation for the big movie! I can't wait to hear what you think of it! :)

Karen said...

Again, I'm so jealous of you, Xtian. The SATC review and preparation sounds so much fun! Maybe I should do that. :)

About Speed Racer, I heard it didn't do well in the US. In Japan box office ranking, it was #5 when it opened, #7 in its second week, #9 in its third week, and now it's out of top 10...I don't think it's because of Jin's voice acting.

Japanese movie market is highly competitive with movies like Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, #1 two weeks in a row. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Lost_My_Little_Boy

Christian Aaron said...

Aaw, another Miyazaki film...

My younger brother and sister were recenly visiting with me for the summer and we watched quite a few of Miyazaki's films. They especially loved Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro. :)

I loved the atmosphere of Naussica, but the plot moved along too slowly, I felt. My personal favorite was Howl's Moving Castle, with Spirited Away being a close second! :P

Karen said...

Wow! You know a lot about Miyazaki films! A lot more than I do.

I watched Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke at the movie theaters. I kind of watched Totoro and Naussica at home, but don't remember the stories. Maybe I've seen too much Hollywood movies.

Anonymous said...

I never got to see speed racer!!! It's really expensive to go the movie theater now in the US so I don't go and see as many movies as I used to (which is sad because I LOVE going to the movie theater)

A lot of people didn't like the Speed Racer movie...but a few of my friends said it was good. I guess I'll rent it on DVD (I want to hear Jin's voice acting though!!!)

I think It would be really cool to have Jin be in a Hollywood movie! Speaking english~!

I didn't see the Sex and the City movie, mainly because I have never seen the show....but it did do really well!!

Karen said...

Hi, Christy,

I'm glad to hear that a few of your friends said Speed Racer was good. Unfortunately, it didn't do well here in Japan, either. Poor Jin...

I hope you'll be able to rent it on DVD. I guess you can rent a Japanese version if you want to hear Jin's voice acting at a Japanese video rental shop. The DVD region code is different from US, though. It's worth hearing it!

A huge SATC promotion is going on here in Japan right now! I'll go see it some time next month, and will probably blog about it.