TeamBril

Be Patient

2012-01-20T16:30:00.001+01:00

Lately, it has been very quiet on TeamBril, but there is a good reason: Be Patient! No, we don't want you to be patient, or actually we do, but Be Patient is TeamBril's new baby. At the moment we are spending a lot of time nurturing it into a fill grown show.

So, if you really miss our interactions please visit the Be Patient Facebook Page for all info on the show and recent updates.

Until then ... BE PATIENT!

CAMERA JAPAN Festival Leader 2011

2011-10-31T14:46:00.000+01:00

Wow, it has been quiet for quite some time. So in order to create some extra noise: here is the CAMERA JAPAN Festival Leader for the 2011 edition. And while you are at it, have another look at last year's leader and let us know your favorite in the comment section!

CAMERA JAPAN 2011 Audience Award Winner

2011-10-05T13:39:00.001+02:00

And the votes are in. CAMERA JAPAN Festival has released the results of the audience votes, which determine the Audience Award Winner. Pretty soon I will publish my own top 5, but for now you can read all about the democratic vote. And for those who want to know, I only managed to see one film out of the top 3. And now, without no further ado, here's the Audience's top 3:

3] Abacus and Sword: I didn't get to see this film yet, but it got quite a lot of positive reactions. Besides that, an period drama is always a good watch (although the days of Samurai films by Kurosawa or Gosha are long gone).

2] Redline: Anime are always popular during the festival, but barely make it in the top 3. Redline's 2nd place is therefor quite impressive, given that it only played once, on the opening night of the festival at 22.00h.

1] Bunny Drop: If I went to the bookmakers befor the festival, then Bunny Drop would have been the film I would have put my money on. Just like Wig last year, it's a film for everybody. The ultra-sweet story line and adorable Mana Ashida do the rest

Shirome [2010]

2011-10-02T10:00:00.000+02:00

In the late nineties Japan received a lot of accolades for the horror films they were producing back then. Back then Ringu paved the path for more great frighteners such as Kairo, Uzumaki, Juon and Dark Water. Ever since I've become a sucker for J-Horror, although the quality has never managed to come close to that of the horror films at the beginning of the century. So with Shirome playing at CAMERA JAPAN, I couldn't resist but to watch a couple of Japanese Idols getting scared senseless at midnight.

Shirome is a documentary style horror film, following the rise of Idol Group Momoiro Clover (they are a group in reality as well). In order to boost their exposure, they are selected to participate on a TV show. The only catch is that the TV show is one that explorer supernatural events. In this case the group has to travel down to an old abandoned school and ask Shirome (a deity that appears as a butterfly painting) to grant their biggest wish: to perform on a big Japanese talent show. However, if they are not honest, then Shirome will haunt them, eventually leading to a certain death.

Director Koji Shiraishi has been directing quite some horror films lately, almost all of them have the raw documentary footage style that was made popular by The Blair With Project and more recently Cloverfield. In order to create a more realistic touch, a real Idol group was involved without really knowing what was going to happen. Therefor, most scenes are staged, but the reactions of the girls are for real. Shiraishi's style backfires here a bit. Rather than being scary, the movie looks more like an episode out of the New Year's show by Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!, a Japanese comedy show that also features a haunted element, but which is played out for laughs. After the girls cry their eyes out for the umpteenth time, you cannot help but to actually laugh. The final showdown between the girls and Shirome is also a riot, as the girls sing and dance in the middle of a dark and abandoned class room.

The biggest drawback about the film is that the "evil" of the film does not manifest itself until the very end of the film (and even then it is a bit arbitrary). As an audience you never know which real terror the girls face. J-Horror classics such as Ringu and Juon already made it pretty clear from the beginning what was at stake and when things were going to be critical. Shirome completely fails to do so and rather presents some scenes that involve scary sounds or blackouts, which are way more scarier for the girls than for the audience.

Shirome is still quite enjoyable if you are looking for a no-brainer horror/comedy with Japanese elements. However, if you are looking for a classic horror film that will scare you shitless, then you should leave this one alone! And if you are looking for some nice Japanese films, CAMERA JAPAN still shows some films at Kriterion today, and they also have the Nippon Noir Retrospecitve in Melkweg until wednesday.

Shirome | 2010 | Japan | Director: Koji Shiraishi

Wandering Home [2010]

2011-10-01T11:25:00.000+02:00

A movie about a war photographer with a drinking problem already brings up associations of drama and cliches. Still, a film dealing with addiction might result in an original and, every now and then, upbeat film. If you take into account that Tadanobu Asano is present to take on the lead role, then Wandering Home might be a nice surprise.

War photographer Yasuyuki Tsukahara spends his entire day drinking. He is divorced and his two children are living with his ex-wife, Yuki Sonoda, who has a thriving career as a succesfull manga artists. But Tsukahara doesn't really (seem to) care about them, he rather wants to drink. When he vomits blood and is hospitalized for the umpteenth time, his mother and ex-wife draw the line and eventually Tsukahara is sent to rehab. There he starts a long journey to kick the habit, but does he still have enough time?

The first thirty minute of the film really caught my interest. Tsukahara's drunk wandering were presented with some surrealism and horror (especially the blood vomiting scene is pretty scary). In the hospital he was visited by his ex-wife (a nice role by Hiromi Nagasaku), who appeared to be somewhat sadistic and seemed to be a bit content with Tsukahara's suffering. I was hoping that the movie would continue with it's dark undertone, but pretty soon the movie changed directions and ended up back on the beaten track, thicking off one cliche after another. As soon as Tsukahara is put into the rehab clinic, the movie becomes predictable. Tsukahara's horrific vomiting is replaced with psychiatric sessions and a lust for seafood curry (another series of predictable scenes, in which Tsukahara is served anything but curry, only to eventually receive...you guessed it). His ex-wife is all of a sudden anything but sadistic and even advises her co-worker to marry. From there on, it is still a long way until the end of the movie, as the movie drags on for about two hours.

Director Yoichi Higashi is known for making films with quite a lot of cliches and Wandering Home is no exception. Tadanobu Asano also phones in his stellar performance, by hanging around and looking bored, rather than a tormented soul, who is destroyed by both his past as a war photographer and all the alcohol. On top of that, Asano looks way to clean and slick for a forty-something alcoholic who's been having drinking marathons ever since he was seventeen. In addition, the focus is too much on Tsukahara, where more attention for Sonoda and her kids might have made it a more interesting film.

Wandering Home is certainly not the best film at CAMERA JAPAN festival, but it is the closing film at the Amsterdam event. So tomorrow at 22.00h you still have a chance to catch it at Kriterion.

Wandering Home (Yoi ga Sametara, Uchi ni Kaero) | 2010 | Japan | Director: Yoichi Higashi

CAMERA JAPAN FESTIVAL: Flashback to CAMERA JAPAN Festival 2010.

2011-09-30T10:00:00.000+02:00

Today CAMERA JAPAN festival moves to Amsterdam. From friday until sunday you can watch movies, groove out to DJ Sniff, eat sushi and much more. Make sure to check out Underwater Love on saturday at midnight, with a special introduction by co-scriptwriter Tom Mes and you might find lead actress Sawa Masaki in the attendance as well!

Bunny Drop [2011]

2011-09-29T10:06:00.000+02:00

Hiroyuki Tanaka, or Sabu as he is credited for as a director, has built up quite an impressive resume in the world of the Japanese Cinema. He's been both in front of the camera and behind the camera. The majority of his work can be classified as black comedy, in which yakuza characters are no strangers. So, when he announced that he wanted to adapt the "josei" manga Bunny Drop, Usagi Droppu, people were quite surprised.

As Bunny Drop starts, we encounter thirty-year old Daikichi, who is on his way to the funeral of his grandfather. Many of his relatives haven't seen Daikichi for a while, as he has been working on his career in the city. At the funeral, Daikichi encounters a six-year old girl, named Rin, who turns out to be his grandfather's illegitimate daughter. While his relatives discuss way to put Rin into a foster home, Daikichi stands up and declares that he will raise the girl. From then onwards the audience witnesses Daikichi's struggles with raising a six-year old, while trying to keep his career going at the same time.

Usagi Drop is clearly made with an audience in mind. Unlike Sabu's other films, the tone throughout the film is supersweet, almost to an extent that it makes your teeth hurt (especially near the end). A lot of the "kawaii-ness" can be contributed to child actress Mana Ashida, who's rapidly becoming the next Shirley Temple. She takes up a lot of the screen time, while making onigiri. Lead actor Kenichi Matsuyama, in the meantime, daydreams about dancing the tango with a potential love interest. If you haven't figured it out by now, Bunny Drop is a romantic comedy avant-la-lettre that will certainly please the young female audience (the same audience for which the manga was written).

The most remarkable thing about Bunny Drop is Sabu's shift from original, black comedy, to a very commercial, romantic comedy. At first the film is still quite entertaining with Daikichi initial struggles to take care of Rin by buying running shoes, so he will still be able to get to work in time. However, halfway the film we are treated to yet another scene of Rin waiting at the kindergarten and sleeping next to Daikichi. The repetitiveness sets in and the predictability becomes more obvious. The movie really derails in the final act, when it feels like the credits can roll any minute, only to be treated to yet another epilogue. In particular the last ten minute are a bit ridiculous, when the voice over predicts that having/raising a child is the ultimate source of happiness.

Nevertheless, don't let my anti-kawaii rant put you off. if you are a seasoned romantic comedy veteran, or if you want to treat the missus to a sweet, foreign film then you should still check out Bunny Drop. There will still be enough entertaining scenes to enjoy. Bunny Drop is the opening film of the CAMERA JAPAN festival at Kriterion, in Amsterdam. The film plays, tomorrow (friday) at 19.00h. So don't miss out.

Bunny Drop (Usagi Droppu) | 2011 | Japan | Director: Sabu

Underwater Love [2011]

2011-09-28T16:35:00.001+02:00

If there is one film you still have to catch at Camera Japan (or have to watch if you are a fan of Japanese film in general) it has to be Underwater Love (Onna no Kappa). Although you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, a movie with an subtitle that reads "A Pink Musical", is sure to deliver a lively experience that manages to combine the musical and the Japanese Pinku Eiga.

The story evolves around Asuka, who works at a fish factory and is about to get married. One day she encounters a kappa, a Japanese watersprite. The kappa turns out to be Aoki, an old classmate of hers, who drowned when he was only 17. Soon Asuka realises she still might have feelings for Aoki, while Aoki, himself goes on a quest to save Asuka's life.

Underwater Love does not pretend to be a heavy film with strong character studies and heavy plot twists, it's rather a light film with it's main catch being the Pink Musical mashup. In general, I am not a big musical fan, mainly due to the fact that most pompous songs kill off the flow of the film. The musical numbers (by Stereo Total) in Underwater Love are short and sweet and they provide a nice break without interrupting the flow. The additional choreography also fits the music and style of the rest of the film. The "pink" scenes are also subtle and can either be coined romantic or comical (especially the pink scenes with the Kappa). With the best of both worlds, Underwater Love is a clear TeamBril favorite, providing a unique experience that you can rarely find in the theatre these days.

Underwater Love was shot in only seven days (which is quite normal for a pink movie). Despite the short shooting schedule, it manages to cook up quite some impressive names. The Director of Photography is Christopher Doyle (Doyle is actually the main reason for the short shooting schedule, due to other work commitments), famous for his work on a lot of Wong-Kar Wai films. Doyle's cinematography provides for a lot of great shots that make Underwater Love look like anything but a low-budget pink film. Co-script writer is Tom Mes, who managed to get some unique twists and events into the film. To sum it up, the soundtrack was composed by German band Stereo Total. The band had already made the songs befor the movie was shot, making it easier for the actors to work with the music during the musical scenes. So, Underwater Love did not only manage to combine the best of musical and pinku eiga, but they also got some great film collaborators from around the globe.

The film will play coming saturday at midnight at Kriterion, during the CAMERA JAPAN festival. There will be an introduction by co-scriptwriter Tom Mes and most likely lead-actress Sawa Masaki will show up as well. So don't miss out this unique pink musical experience!

Underwater Love (Onna no Kappa) | 2011 | Japan | Director: Shinji Imaoka

CAMERA JAPAN FESTIVAL: Flashback to CBK Rotterdam 2010.

2011-09-13T10:30:00.001+02:00

The main event in Lantaren/Venster will commence on the 21st of September, but this friday (16 September) there will already be a debate and screening of "Ashes to Honey" in De Unie. Don't miss it out, for it will also feature the premiere of this year's leaders of yours truly. Until then, enjoy the flashback to last year's exhibitions and performances in CBK.

CAMERA JAPAN FESTIVAL: 2011 programme

2011-09-06T17:27:00.000+02:00

The Camera Japan Film festival 2011 programme has been finalized! You can find the online PDF version here. Also check out the website here.

Teambril is planning a massive cinematic indulgence on the Saturday the 24th of September. Wanna join? B-)

Yeti Imperial Stout

2011-09-03T02:00:00.000+02:00

It's time for another Beer Bril premier: the first American beer. After having tasted beers from Asia in the last few months, it is about time to endulge in a beer from the other side of the pond. The Yeti Imperial Stout comes all the way from Denver, Colorado and is brewed by the Great Divide Brewing Company. Too make things extra international, the Yeti Imperial Stout is a Russian Imperial Stout by nature. Let's go to the tasting!

When I lived in New York for a while, I had a fair share of American brews and I noticed that there was a typical American taste in almost all American beers, which must be because of the difference between American hops and European hops.

And now on with the Yeti Imperial stout .It looks chocolately dark with a nice brown head. There is a clear smell of chocolate and caramel, with a bit of coffee. The taste is quite sour with a clear hint of caramel. The distinctive smokey taste that is pretty common with Russian Imperial Stouts is missing, although there is a tobacco taste. The finish is hoppy. Overall, it is a nice beer. although I've had better Imperial Stouts, nevertheless the Yeti Imperial Stout has gotten me interested in more brews from the Great Divide.

Yeti Imperial Stout | Russian Imperial Stout | Great Divide Brewing Company | USA | 6%

CAMERA JAPAN FESTIVAL: Flashback to Amsterdam 2010

2011-09-01T10:20:00.000+02:00

Last year Kriterion in Amsterdam was the place for the kick-off of Camera Japan. This year the party will start in Rotterdam, but the main event will be in Amsterdam from 30 September to 02 October at Kriterion, there is also the retrospective program taking place at Melkweg from 29 September to 05 October. So in case you're going to miss the Rotterdam event, you'll have no other excuses to miss out the event in Amsterdam.

Here is a flashback to last year's festivities and activities in Kriterion. See you there soon!

Nello Blond

2011-08-27T04:00:00.000+02:00

Did you enjoy our little Asian trip the last couple of BeerBril posts. From Indonesian Kopi Luwak to Singapore's own Tiger Beer and then some Japanese Ji-Biru. Well today we start off in Japan but eventually we will go back to Belgium and it all has to do with the character featured on today's beer: Nello.

The story of Nello and his loyal dog Patrasche is told in A Dog of Flanders. The book was originally written in English, but is set in Antwerp. Ironically the book is not well known in Belgium, however, it is very popular in ... you guessed it ... Japan. For years Japanese tourists have come down to Antwerp to take a picture at the statue of Nello and Patrasche and visit the famous sight described in A Dog of Flanders. There are even a few films and anime about Nello and his dog.

So now that we've touched upon Japan, it is time to go straight back to Brouwerij De Arend in Belgium and describe the taste of Nello's Blond (there is also a Patrasche Dubbel). The beer has a golden color and a nice foamy head. There is a clear scent of fruits. The taste is sweet and extremely smooth, with clear malts. There is a orangy-citrus kind of taste that makes it very drinkable, but not too sweet. The beer was served cold, but surprisingly it had a lot of taste. Nello's Blond is a great beer that is refreshing. It also goes well with spicy food and meat.

Nello's Blond | Blond Beer | Brouwerij De Arend | Belgium | 7%

CAMERA JAPAN FESTIVAL: Flashback to Rotterdam 2010

2011-08-22T09:45:00.001+02:00

As you might recall, last year, we were avid fans of the CAMERA JAPAN Festival. Luckily they will be back this year at the end of September for another awesome festival. For now they are counting down to the new event by reliving last year's experience, check out the Rotterdam Flashback below... made and edited by yours truly!

CR_SSW_RD

2011-08-16T10:25:00.001+02:00

It's time for another TeamBril original, this time we go back to 2008, which must be the reason why the film was still shot on 16mm B&W. During that period I was enrolled at NYFA and we had to make a film that incorporated continuity. I came up with the film below.

MOVE

2011-08-11T10:35:00.005+02:00

Today we close the trilogy by Rick Mereki with Movement. I really like this short film, due to the smart usage of continuity.

LEARN

2011-08-10T10:33:00.002+02:00

Yesterday was all about food, today is about learning.

EAT

2011-08-09T10:28:00.000+02:00

For the next three days we take a look at a nice trilogy of shorts by Rick Mereki. EAT, LEARN and MOVE are films made by 3 guys in 44 days over 11 countries. Today's topic tackles food across nations.

Gulp - The Making Of

2011-08-08T10:45:00.001+02:00

Did you enjoy Gulp this past Video Friday? Most likely you are still wondering how Aardman has pulled it off. Luckily they also put a making off online and it is worth the watch!

Aka Miso Lager

2011-08-06T11:00:00.002+02:00

Another great beer from Japan, although not as memorable as the Imperial Chocolate Weizen. Still, Nagoya's own Red Miso Lager (Aka Miso Lager) is an interesting beer, if only for using miso as an ingredient.

From the outside there is an amber color, which explains the red in the name (there is also a Black Miso Lager). There was a smell of burnt malts and miso. Tastewise, the beer was a bit gazzy, which could be due to the fact that it was served cold, whereas I suspect the beer would be nicer when consumed at room temperature (then again there is a different definition of room temperature in Singapore). Furthermore, the beer was slightly sour, and tasted more like a porter or a dubbel, rather than a lager. Surprisingly there was no dominant taste of miso. Which I found a bit of a letdown (but that could also be the result of consuming the magnificent Imperial Chocolate Weizen befor this beer). Nevertheless, the Red Miso Lager has a very complex taste as well that gives a lot of European special brews a run for their money.

All in all, I am quite impressed with the creativity of ingredients and the quality of microbrewed beers from Japan. I quite regret not having tasted more microbrews when I lived in Japan. Then again that gives TeamBril a new reason to travel to the land of the rising sun and discover some more lovely beers!

Nagoya Aka Miso Lager | Lager | Shin Hachi Beer | Japan | 6%

Video Friday: Gulp

2011-08-05T11:40:00.005+02:00

It's Video Friday! And today we have a new little gem from the people at Aardman. It's a stop-motion film, shot entirely on a mobile phone? How cool is that. Stay tuned for the making of on monday. For now, here is what their Vimeo site has to say about it:

'Gulp' is a short film created by Sumo Science at Aardman, depicting a fisherman going about his daily catch. Shot on location at Pendine Beach in South Wales, every frame of this stop-motion animation was shot using a Nokia N8, with its 12 megapixel camera and Carl Zeiss optics. The film has broken a world record for the 'largest stop-motion animation set', with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet.

Buck 65 - Superstars don't love

2011-08-04T10:51:00.002+02:00

Some music and images for today. Here is an interesting clip/concept by Travis Hopkins, who made a clip for Buck 65 that only consists of imaginary title cards for non-existing movies. I really like the idea and it almost makes me want to try a similar concept for myself.

Imperial Chocolate Weizen

2011-07-30T11:00:00.001+02:00

Regrets, I have a few, but then again too few to mention. Okay, for today I shall mention one regret, which is not to endulge myself in the microbrewery scene (ji-biiru/地ビール) of Japan.The ironic thing of it all is that it took me another trip to Singapore to realize this. The beer at hand is the Imperial Chocolate Weizen by Kin Shachi.

Notice that the name includes already a mouthful of different tastes: there is Imperial, which ought to refer to the taste of an imperial stout, there is Chocolate, which is a bit of an odd one out in beerworld, but still a very clear taste indication and then there is Weizen, which refers to the great weissbeers from Germany. All in all, I had quite some expectations of this beer. Then again, at the same time I didn't know what to expect.

The chocolate-part is pretty obvious as the beer not only has a cacao smell, but a cacao taste as well. The flavour also has a hint of a Weihenstephaner, which must mean that it includes hints of banana, vanilla and coriander. In the end there is the taste of burned malts, which is also typical of an imperial stout. So all in all, the Kin Shachi brewery has managed to deliver a beer with a taste that is as complex as it's name. It's a pity this lovely beer is not easily available, for it is one of the nicest beers I've had this year (and there is still about half a year to come!). And if you wondered why the beer comes with a ribbon...it's just that fancy!

Imperial Chocolate Weizen | Dunkelweizen | Kin Shachi Beer | Japan | 9%

Video Friday: Japanese Commercials from the 80s

2011-07-29T09:47:00.008+02:00

Finally, it's Video Friday again. Today we return to our beloved Japan to take a look at some insane commercials from the eighties. Just make sure you wear your white bikini today!

Luís Porém's RbG Rainbow Glasses

2011-07-27T10:34:00.007+02:00

If you feel the need to buy new glasses every other month, just because you want to look different from the month before, you might run into some financial difficulties. Luckily, Luís Porém has found an affordable solution to change your glasses, by simply changing their color.

You can simply fill the rainbow glasses with another ink whenever you feel like having new glasses. Luís Porém explains how:

The structure of the RbG glasses has an internal channel where a colourful ink passes through, painting it with the colours the user desires, allowing him having a different look every time he wants.
Made in plastic with a flexible part in the arm of the structure. Filled with water-based ink.

Which color do you feel like today?