Otaku Night

So, watched Death Note today with Dave and co. For all my dissatisfaction, I'm still happy that I've gone to watch it. Do I love you because you're beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you? Maybe the otaku in me just doesn't want to dislike it. 6_6

Obsessed ramblings follow, so be warned. =) But before you leave... if you've watched this movie and decided that you didn't like it, don't be discouraged! Go get the anime or better still pick up the manga, I guarantee that's much much better!

Okay, now that that's out of the way. ^__^

Same scenes here and there, but to me it felt like everything was different. Just realized when Dave pointed it out, that they'd upgraded Raito from high school to college. Huehe. Speaking of which, how I wish they had released more than two episodes of the TV anime so I could've gone all otaku with Dave (he only followed the anime, which had not revealed much at this point). I think I've gone all otaku on him anyway. Huahauhau.

I still think the manga gave the best suspense for the introduction, the part of how Raito came into contact with the Death Note. The anime was very close but slightly different. The movie was not bad in that department actually, because the opening made you wonder what was going on (if you hadn't read anything about the plot or seen any trailers, that is...) but it felt rather all over the place for me. Come to think of it, it's probably a matter of flavour, ya? Manga-s do things in a certain way and movies another. And while I remember to mention -- they added a "How to Use It" rule that wasn't in the original story, didn't they? Can't remember what it was, though.

The romance bit was totally uncalled for... though it did provide a good twist. I mean, come on, this was not the Raito I know. Steady girlfriend? Basketball? He was supposed to be the intelligent type, but the way he was portrayed was more the popular type instead. I thought surely it was too much to make him good at basketball on top of everything else, but now I recall him being good at tennis in the manga. Um yeah, manga-s do get a bit dramatic too. ^^0 But he at least looked more like a tennis kinda guy than basketball! Huahuaha. I mean, you have guys like Kunimitsu Tezuka in Prince of Tennis! I remembered someone even parodied that tennis match between Raito and L, where Raito was cast as Fuji, PoT's in-house genius. Hilarious. =D But anyway, another story. ^^

Raito was much more of a villain in this movie. They did try to establish his motivation with the story about dropped criminal cases etc -- I don't know, it just didn't stick with me. Halfway through the story he became just a little more than an obsessed genius mass murderer. It was far better in the original story where he was more in touch (fed up, that is) with the "rotten world" around him. I don't mind the new version much; they were done quite well, I think. The resolution to Naomi's role was a twist good enough to replace the original full-of-tension encounter between her and Raito. The problem is that the original was already very good that you'd lament, "Why not have that?" =P

Also, this "first part" was apparently not the "first part" I drew the line on (the "L saga" in the manga), which covered a much longer story. At the pace the movie was going (i.e. pretty slow), they shouldn't have abbreviated things so much that they lost the purpose, for the sake of the unnecessary additions. But oh well, it's always easy to criticize. =D

To be fair, some points are better in this movie. Chief Yagami's personality stood out better, and he really delivered most of the whole story's morale.

The people at the theatre kept laughing whenever Ryuuku showed up. Ata said it was because of that dumb face, at least for people who wasn't used to it already from reading the manga. He was indeed entertaining, I guess. =D And I got to admire L's slim fingers. Huahah. He must be one happy actor, getting to eat all those delicious stuff for work. I heard his portrayal of L was praised, and I agreed that he did a very good job. Pity we didn't see enough of him here... yet. The modified plot development didn't quite give a punch on the wit exchange, somehow.

We stayed on after the credits to see if there'd be extra scenes. Indeed, there was... a trailer for Part 2. =D Part 2 of the L saga, that is. The "Second Kira arc", shall we call it. I don't think there'd be anything about M and N, and this second part is already titled The Last Name, as Dave said, so there probably won't be any more sequel. I'm not complaining though; the L saga is the most interesting part in my opinion. And if you know the manga ending to that part, maybe we all won't mind so much if they've changed the ending yet again. Which is what they'd probably do if they're not going to resolve the overall story with M and N. (Another The Departed case? But this is a Jap movie, so maybe they won't have qualms about not-so-happy endings ya? I haven't watched enough Jap non-anime movies to tell...)

Erm, do you think this whole writing is very obscure? Huehuehe. Trying to keep away from spoilers here.

Kay then. Work is still stormy so I'd better stop here now. ^^0

Happening

First time coming here without really anything to write about. =D *checks timestamp of last post* Eek, almost one month ya? Anyway, big deadline just passed. Not that I let such things stop me from writing *ahem* but I guess there just wasn't anything I wanted to urgently say. Was feeling quite pressurized before this, that sighs and huffs and hand-through-hair pretty much sum up what I want to let out. =D

So. Big deadline just passed. Who was it who said most of your work would be done one month before the deadline... very true in my case, heh. Actually, make that a week. Good thing my sup is as meticulous as me in writing (she once spent two hours on an abstract -- a paragraph, that is) or else she'd be hounding me for being so slow. I'm still a little shaky about the results, but I apply the usual tactic... what we can't justify, we bluff through. ^^0

Even got waken up by my sup's phone call this morning *hides* 'cause I missed her email last night and I overslept in compensation for the three-hour sleep I got the night before. Me lazy brat who can survive on four-hour sleep four days in a row (I believe that's the record) to stay up reading manga scans but not to edit academic papers. X(

So. Big deadline just passed. Someone's screaming that we've established that fact already. =D Immediately hopped into a taxi and not-so-successfully attempted to run through the Suntec crowd (difficult, I tell you) to watch The Departed with Eka. Felt quite bad that I made her miss the first few bits. Thot I'd be able to meet the deadline with some spare time, but apparently these things tend not to work that way. For future reference.

Anyway, I've watched Infernal Affairs and I loved it, so the fact that I don't hate The Departed (which really follows all major settings and plot flow of Infernal Affairs except the last part... if I remember correctly) may mean that the movie is actually very good. =D It has really interesting characters, even the minor ones, even the sidekick planted there for the sole purpose (or so I think) of tweaking the ending. The humour is also good.

Still, I like Infernal Affairs better. Maybe because I've watched it first. Maybe because the Chinese setting is more familiar. Maybe because it has Tony Leung. Hihi. *fangirl alert* I feel that Infernal Affairs established the background story better too, like the way they reveal the protagonist's identity, his touching relationship with the captain of police... and I think that extra ending in The Departed was unnecessary. Just to make the good guy win. I do think the romance in The Departed is done better -- I like that girl, while I cannot remember how it went in Infernal Affairs. Hmmm.

And oh, Leonardo looks more handsome with facial hair. Weird, I usually prefer the other way round, but I guess his clean face is just a bit too sweet for my taste. ...As if I had the pick. Right.

So. Big deadline... kidding. I'll spare you the overdose of repetitive style, though you could probably tell I myself am a sucker for it. ^^ So, after the movie, got Indonesian food for dinner and usual gossips/updates with Eka, then off to Chinatown for karaoke with Hady. =DD Plus all the tension before the submission deadline, what a happening weekend. When talking with Eka today we sort of mentioned how uneventful weekends were back in our undergraduate days, and that made me realize the extent of change I've gone through without really knowing it. *distant look* Time really does bring so much change so naturally.

So, next movie. Huaha. Death Note is opening next week! *yay yay yay* Must be the first movie I'm really waiting to be released. Actually, can't really figure out why. I've read the manga, I've recently heard from Dave that there's a TV anime version, I've downloaded and watched the first episode. And I'm still so excited over this live-action movie (that's how they call it). Must be a fangirl thing. =D And the more I look at the posters (quite surprised at how much publicity this is getting, considering it's a non-English movie) the more I like the actor who played L. Mwehehe. Plan to watch it on one of the coming weekdays, as my parents are coming to visit next Saturday.

Ah... life's so good. =D Another deadline end of this month, but what the heck. Fufufufufu.