Movies: Inception (hidden spoilers)

Ill keep this brief. Great movie!! Its been a while since a movie made you have to think a little bit more. I dont get why people are stressing over the ending. Heres my thoughts (highlight to read):

We cant be sure that he is still in a dream state at the end of the movie just because the top is spinning. Its all up to Nolan really. If he had let it fall over, people wouldnt talk about the movie as much. That one small moment in the movie has everybody going "wtf!". Ive chosen to believe that after the movie cuts out, the spinning top falls over. That way, i have everything figured out and can go on with my life :D. On the other hand, you could argue that he is still in a dream state but because everything is awesome in that final dream state (free to go home, see his kids) you could say that he created the best reality for himself and has chosen to live that. You can see at the end that he doesnt give a crap what happens to the spinning top, just cares about his kids. My advice, pick a conclusion that you like and go on with your life :D

John`s Art: Karl Lagertron - Rising

My photoshop skills still require a LOT of work but at least it looks better than when it had no effects or background.

I love the idea of Karl Lagerfeld as a giant transformer and think i might make some more Lagertron drawings in the future :D

Art: FriendsWithYou project in Taipei

Miami art crew FriendsWithYou has worked on a great new project in Taipei, entitled “Field of Dreams”.

” The wonderful people at the Fubon Art Foundation commissioned FriendsWithYou to create a massive art piece to cover the façade of the Fubon Financial building in Taipei, Taiwan. As part of the Very Fun Park 2010 exhibition “Field of Dreams” became the focal point of the project and was created as a visual representation of this year’s theme “looking up.” As the brilliantly multicolored flowers and bright colors appear on the horizon people are forced to look upwards, to discover that the cloud is smiling and asks you to rediscover the beauty of life. “Field of Dreams” will be on exhibit through July 2011.”

Kicks: Nike Air Force 1 "5 Borroughs" pack

Queens


Manhattan

Bronx

Staten Island

Brooklyn

Godzilla - New Concept Art Images

Waaaaaa look how pissed off he is!! Cant wait to see him take a dump all over New York :D

Thor: One last surprise.....

The Infinity Gauntlet was soptted at comic con on display as a prop from the Thor movie. This is very interesting......

SDCC 2010: Street Fighter X Tekken announced & Teaser Trailer

SDCC 2010: Captain America footage description

Clip showed an unmasked Red Skull looting a tomb in a castle, which belongs to Odin. There's a nod to the Cosmic Cube, a staple of Cap comics.

The Skull then finds a hidden compartment, finds a box inside and opens it. An old man warns the Skull that man was not meant to see what's inside. "Exactly," answers the Skull.


:D

SDCC 2010: Round up

Avengers:

• Jeremy Renner confirmed as Hawkeye
• Mark Ruffalo confirmed as Bruce Banner/Hulk
  

Ghost Rider 2:

• Cage is back
• Ghost Rider to fight Dracula? (so says cage)

Captain America:

• Teaser trailer to be out by the end of this year

Thor:

• Trailer footage was shown in 3D

Punisher:

• Marvel has the film rights back!! :D

SDCC 2010: Updates Part I

Why use such a shit Iron Man armour? SMH

Kicks: Reebok Pump Omni Lite "Ma-1"

Thor - A more promising look

This photo speaks a lot more than the previous ones that were released. The costumes so far look kinda cheesy and even plastic. I personally dont like how Thor has been shapin up. Until i saw the above image. Im now much more sold on Hemsworth playing Thor than ever. I guess if they fuck up the Asgardian aspect of it, they still might get all the real world/Donald Blake stuff right.

John's Art: Making Things Look Better? Karl Lagertron

Ive recently been putting things through photoshop and trying to make them look a bit more professional. Or at least, im trying to saturate the colours because ive started to notice that they are often too bright. In some ways, it all looks a lot more realistic once ive started to mess around in photoshop with them. If a Robot version of Karl Lagerfeld could be considered realistic?

What do you think?

Kicks: Nike Zoom Bruin SB Cappuccino

John's Art: Music Of Wales Presentation - Cover Image

This will be the cover slide and probably the highlight of the entire presentation as there isnt a whole lot of interesting stuff to say about Wales. Im working on adding something else thats fun to the presentation because i want there to be something that people can still enjoy about my presentation. Even if they are ignoring me, its ok because hopefully they will notice what is happening on the slides behind me during my speech that is grabbing their attention ;D

Note: That's Tom Jones on the right :D

Art: Late Night Thoughts......

I often think that my best ideas and inspiration comes during the late night hours. Its 1:36 am here now in Japan and i really feel like just staying up the whole night and drawing. Unfortunately, i have class at 8.50am so its probably not a good idea :s.

Often, before i fall asleep, ill have thoughts about the things i want to create. Often i come to draw on my computer, it might be something i`ve had in my head for a long time. I can see how it is supposed to look and yet i just cant seem to do it. Its frustrating.

I wonder how it is ive become better at using a mouse to draw than with a pen or pencil.

I dont need to be paid to make art. Thats not my goal.
However, as a student, something which takes time and makes no gain towards bank balance or studies can seem kind of pointless. Its important to hone my skills and keep doing what i love but time is sometimes better spent on other things.

Id love some day to see my art being truly appreciated. On a t shirt, hung up somewhere or in a book etc. Just for somebody who has no attachment or connection with me to see my work and say "thats cool". Thats what i love.

John`s Art: Hulk - Greetings From Arizona

Im pretty impressed with how the background and everything turned out. Admittedly, there isnt a lot going on in this picture but i always find when i add too much detail to things, it gets a bit messy. Im finding that by saturating my drawings, i can achieve better colouring.

John's Art: Photoshoppin' - Tony Stark

Today, i decided to mess around on photoshop and try to make my work look more professional and dynamic. More than present a drawing, i wanted to add a bit of emotion into my drawings. So i thought maybe after ive drawn something, i can take it to photoshop and see what improvements i can be made. So i used one of my more recent drawings and tried my hand...

While the lighting doesnt make a whole lot of sense. I think it looks way better than before. I wonder what else i can do to my drawings......

Art: Artist - Pascal Campion

Inspirational Artists: Pascal Campion from Onyx Cinema, Inc. on Vimeo.

A truly inspirational artist. He has some really great things to say.

Please watch this!

Reminds me how important drawing is to me.

Thor: New Image

I dunno, all the Thor images so far dont look very norsely (word?) mythological at all :s

Kicks: Adidas Adirise

Ghost Rider 2 Update

Oh no! Cage just officially signed on for Ghost Rider 2. SMFH

New Thor Image

I would be lying if i said this picture didnt look stupid. Whats with Odin's weird eyepatch? Im worried......

Life in Japan: High priced living?

The title of this post is a bit misleading in that it suggests living in Japan is entirely expensive. This is not true, as many things here are cheaper than back home. However i think overall, living here has been quite an expense and just yesterday i came across a store in Lumine which was selling Watermelons of various shapes, sizes and prices. Check them out:
20000 yen? thats about £150 :o
Notice also that they are behind a glass case. The same store was selling a single Banana for 105 yen (around 70p). I think that this is a common misconception of people living in the west who have been told tales of fruit being extertionately expensive. Which is evident, as can be seen above, but there are plenty of fruit and veg stores that sell for reasonable prices. So Japan actually isnt all that expensive unless you want to be silly with your money :s
Myth busted! :p

Music: Movado/Ciara/T-Pain

These are some of the tracks that have been dominating my itunes over the past couple of weeks:

Korean Movies: I Saw The Devil - Trailer

Choi Min Sik? Lee Byung Hun? Directed by Ji Woo Kim? :O

Actually just this weekend, i watched A Bittersweet Life two times in a row. I dont think ive done that with a movie since i was a child but that movie just feels so complete and in a way, i feel that its a beautiful movie. Looking forward to I Saw The Devil

Movie Review: 'Outrage' (2010)

'Outrage' (2010)
Action/Crime
8.5/10

As long as it feels ive been waiting for Kitano to return to the genre that made him a star in the west, it feels now like it has all been worth it after watching Outrage. I went to see Outrage recently in 109 Cinemas, Yokohama with one of my friends. We both shared a similar level of Japanese so we thought that watching a Japanese movie without any subtitles would be no problem. Actually i think that our shared enthusiasm for Kitano's movies made sure that it didnt matter.

Luckily for us, we were able to pick up a lot of the dialogue. Some of it was completely lost on us though with the mix of super casual and old fashioned Japanese combined with the 'r' rolling Yakuza tongue. Though we didnt get everything that was being said, we were able to get the overall just of the movie and think that it would have been just the same experience if we'd had subtitles or not.

Anyway about the movie........Outrage is a Yakuza movie about inner turmoil within a particular crime syndicate. The overall theme of the movie seemed to be all about the succession of power within the organisation and a tongue in cheek look at the ridiculousness of it all. At times it often felt like the movie was poking fun at itself even. Kitano plays one of the members of the organisation as he struggles with the people around him in the organisation and other rivals. There is little sanity in this world where sensibility barely exists in contrast to some of the incredibly brutal violence that takes place. Its a great movie, a perfect return to the gangster genre for kitano with an awesome soundtrack to match and a cool factor that has been missing from Japanese cinema for a long time.

Cant wait to watch it again :D

Movies: No More Norton UPDATE - Official Response

Classy response from Ed Norton:

As most of you know, I don't like to talk much about the business of making movies because it means a lot to me to protect the audience's fullest enjoyment of the 'magic' that films can have. But I am so appreciative of the outpouring of support from fans of the Hulk and the Avengers that I feel it would be rude not to respond. So here goes: It seems it won't work out for me to continue playing Bruce Banner for Marvel in "The Avengers." I sincerely hoped it could happen and be great for everyone but it hasn't turned out as we all hoped. I know this is disappointing to many people and that makes me sad. But I am very sincerely grateful to Marvel for extending the offer and even more so for giving me the chance to be a part of the Hulk's long and excellent history. And I really can't thank the fans enough for how much enthusiasm you've sent me way about what Louis and I tried to do in our turn with the legend. It means a lot to me. I grew up with Banner and Hulk and have been a fan of every incarnation. I'm really proud, and very blessed, to have been one of them and will be thrilled to see him live on through other actors. Hulk is bigger than all of us, that's why we love him, right?

Sincerely,
Edward Norton

John's Art: Cover for my essay '893'

Movies: No More Norton - Marvel dropping the ball?

Well it's now been confirmed that Marvel will not be asking Norton to return as Bruce Banner in the Avengers movie or even any future Incredible Hulk movies. I thought Norton did an awesome job in Incredible Hulk and from what i heard, the guy had a lot of serious dedication to the role and really respected the comic book community. Its a shame that movie didnt bank bigger really but i remember at the time a lot of people saying 'Hulk is boring' 'all he does is smash things' etc. This said by people who obviously never read a Hulk comic. They should have given the movie a chance because it was pretty badass! Anyway, for me, its gonna be hard finding a decent replacement for Norton. Obviously this all goes against them saying that they 'listen to the fans' because movie and comic book message boards worldwide were anticipating his return. SMH

John`s Art: Artwork featured somewhere else: Newgrounds Marvel collab

Some Newgrounds animators got together and made a cartoon in tribute to Marvel. One of the animators asked me if he could use some of my artwork in the intro. The intro is in the same style of the Marvel studios logo at the start of Marvel Studios movies today where its almost like flicking through pages of a comic book, turning to red as the Marvel Studios lgo appears. Anyway, you can see the cartoon here.

Im not able to screengrab everything they used as it flicks through too fast for me to 'print screen' 'em all. Here is one i did manage to get a 'grab of though and they also used a couple of my other drawings too.

The collab itself is a series of clips by different creators and it was all quite hit and miss for me really. Although some were not really so funny or interesting, they were at least well drawn and well animated.

Actually im a bit late posting this. It did happen last year afterall :s

Kicks: My Kicks - Nike Air Force 1 & Nike Mad Jibe Mid

These are my sneaker purchases so far in Japan. Im wondering if i have the budget for another pair to take back home with me :p. The Air Forces are there to replace my current Air Force`s which have been pushed to the limit in Japan and are ready for replacement. Ill probably do that once i get out of Japan. Ive been considering replacing the laces on the Jibes (blue maybe?) to jazz them up a bit.

Backpack: Vans Vault x Filson Fall 2010

LOVE this backpack. Too bad it will be hard to get hold of/expensive as hell most likely

Kicks: Nike SB Summer 2010 Releases - Dunk Hi, Low

K-Drama: Athena Teaser Poster

Japanese Study: JLPT N2

So today i took the JLPT N2 exam:

How did it go?

Well, first of all there is a reading and grammar section which was absolute dick-in-your-face hard! Obviously if i had studied enough, i probably could have done a lot better but man, i'm not even sure i could study that much to have been able to legitimately pass. Im just hoping that the multiple choice answer format treats me kindly :D

What follows this, is a 50 minute listening test which was EASY! Well, in comparison to the reading and grammar, MEGA EASY. Or was it just that the reading/grammar section was hard? Im saying all this, still not sure if i passed the listening or not but i definitely understood most of it.

Korean Movie Review: 'Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge" (2009)

Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge (2009)
Horror/Thriller
5/10

I think its safe to say that i`ve learned my lesson with Korean horror movies. Its not that they are all that bad, just that they are painfully average. Basically, WC5 is about a group of high school girls, haunted by the death of another high school girl, whose death they caused. You`ve probably seen something like this before and yeah its pretty much the exact same thing. Though if i have to credit this movie........ah fuck it, why bother.

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
5. Il Mare 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. A Bittersweet Life 8.5/10
8. Humming 8.5/10
9. Sad Movie 8.5/10
10. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
11. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
12. Memories Of Murder 8/10
13. Antique 8/10
14. The Chaser 8/10
15. Private Eye 8/10
16. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
17. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
18. Daisy 7.5/10
19. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
20. Almost Love 7.5/10
21. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
22. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
23. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring 7.5/10
    
24. Mother 7.5/10
    
25. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
26. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
27. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
28. Ride Away 7.5/10
29. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
30. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
31. Sympathy For Mr Vengeance 7/10
    
32. Thirst 7/10
33. Joint Security Area 7/10
34. All For Love 7/10
35. Breathless 7/10
36. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
37. Ghost House 7/10
38. Secret Reunion 7/10
    
39. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
40. He Was Cool 7/10
41. My Love 7/10
42. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
43. Maundy Thursday 7/10
44. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
45. Someone Special 7/10
46. The Classic 7/10
47. Ditto 7/10
    
48. Hot For Teacher 7/10
49. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
50. Break Out 6.5/10
51. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
52. Holiday 6.5/10
53. A Love 6.5/10
    
54. Ing 6.5/10
55. More Than Blue 6.5/10
56. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
57. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
58. Secret 6.5/10
    
59. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
60. Babo 6.5/10
61. Bad Guy 6/10
    
62. Beautiful 6/10
    
63. Big Bang 6/10
    
64. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
65. The Host 6/10
66. My Wife Is A Gangster 6/10
    
67. My Little Bride 6/10
    
68. Oh My God 6/10
69. My Scary Girl 6/10
    
70. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
71. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
72. April Snow 5/10
73. Death Bell 5/10
74. Whispering Corridors 5: A Blood Pledge 5/10
    
75. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
76. My Girl & I 4/10
77. A Million 4/10
    
78. Living Death 4/10
79. Gangster High 3/10

Twitter: Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld, he`s an interesting character dont you think? Ive never really been able to get into the whole twitter thing or really find anyone interesting enough to regularly follow besides John Favreau during Iron Man production. And thats not offense to everyone im following, at least their twitter is way more interesting than mine. I have nothing interesting to say! hence the lack of tweets. I recently came across Karl Lagerfelds twitter account and found that he has some interesting stuff to say.

These are Some of my favourite Lagerfeld tweets:

I'm never content with what I do. I live in a sort of permanent dissatisfaction. I think that's the secret to doing things well.

I like imagination -- and the way I think things could be, had been, or should be -- better than reality.

Forgiveness is too easy. I can forget by indifference, but not forgive. I prefer revenge.

The imagination can transform all sorts of personal insanity into elements of self-invention, and you need to make use of this.

Its really interesting dont you think?
Reading through his tweets today it really made me enthusiastic to draw more images of the guy.
I wish i could show him my 'Lagertron' drawing :D

FriendsWithYou - The Wish Come True Festival

Love FriendsWithYou`s stuff. its always so adorably cute :D. Here are some pics from the festival which just took place in Toronto:

You can see more pictures here

Kicks: Nike Dunk Low SB "Chun Li" & Mid "Ryu"

Spider-Man: Andrew Garfield is the new Peter Parker

Who?

Well, i guess its better to get a relatively unknown actor rather than have guys like maguire (who was a terrible peter parker IMO) who demand increasing salaries for sequels. Im still not happy that everything got retconned though. SMH