Oscars 2013

Oscar statuette by Antoine Taveneaux (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

About ten years ago I started watching every film nominated for an oscar in the lead up to the awards ceremony. I've since stopped doing that (it would be 53 this year including the shorts), but I still try to watch all of the films nominated for categories that historically contain the films I most enjoy: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Screenplay, Cinematography, and Best Foreign Film. Unfortunately I haven't watched the Best Foreign Film nominations yet, and won't be watching any more before the ceremony. Here's my (apparently markedly different to the academy) opinion of the rest:
  • Amour: I had high hopes for this, being a foreign film, which it unfortunately didn't live up to. I just never got around to caring about the characters, unlike Away From Her (2006) which it reminded me a lot of (though I haven't seen it recently). I also disliked the camera work (almost entirely stationary). Being up for Best Picture and Best Foreign Film, it will almost certainly win Best Foreign Film but probably nothing else.
  • Argo: A little overly patriotic and a lot overly dramatic. Decent, but not spectacular. Very likely to win Best Picture, though I'd probably put it third.
  • Beasts of the Southern Wild: I'm not ashamed to admit that I don't get what the beast sequences were about. I don't even care that I don't get them. This is probably my least favourite film this season. At least it was short.
  • Django Unchained: I like Tarantino a lot, although I don't think this is one of his best films. I'd probably give it fourth place out of the Best Picture nominations, which doesn't sound great except that I consider the top four all good and the bottom five all terrible.
  • Les Misérables: I like musicals in real life but hate musicals turned into films and this was no exception. I will say though that I'm a little surprised this wasn't nominated for cinematography, since I thought that was one of the few good things about the film (they had to find something to keep it interesting during all those songs).
  • Life of Pi: Probably the second worst Best Picture nomination. I was expecting beauty a la Hero (2002) but it was not to be. I also really disliked the story. Note that what happens doesn't make the protagonist religious - he was super religious before the main events take place. Sadly it will probably win Best Cinematography though I would much prefer Skyfall or Anna Karenina to get it.
  • Lincoln: It opens with an American flag in the middle of a war. Clearly I am going to like this film. Oh wait, blogger is missing the sarcasm font. At any rate Daniel Day-Lewis was good, so I don't mind that he'll win Best Actor. This will probably also get Steven Spielburg another Best Director win.
  • Silver Linings Playbook: It's a "romantic comedy". Up for an Oscar. Whatever will they think of next? Given the competition, I'm going to make this the second best Best Picture nomination (since it was much more enjoyable to watch than every other nomination). Jennifer Lawrence was also good and should win Best Actress. I would like it to win Best Adapted Screenplay too but that will probably go to Argo.
  • Zero Dark Thirty: You've probably worked out by now that I dislike patriotism and war in my movies which a movie about hunting Osama bin Laden has to have. Yet for some inexplicable reason, I'm going to say this is the number one Best Picture nomination this year. Not that it was particularly enjoyable or that I think it will win, but then, nobody thought The Hurt Locker (2008) would win either. I am a little surprised it's not also up for Directing.
  • Anna Karenina: I hear some people complain that it puts style over substance which was, in my opinion, what made this film enjoyable. If you want substance there's enough other versions if the story already. I'm glad it's up for Best Cinematography and Production Design (I inadvertently also watched all of the films nominated for Production Design and I think this might get it).
  • Skyfall: What can I say about a Bond flick. I didn't watch it because it was nominated. That said, the cinematography was pretty good.
  • Moonrise Kingdom: It's cute, original, wacky and creepy. Hmm I think that makes it positive overall. Only up for Best Original Screenplay which makes sense, though the award will probably and hopefully go to Zero Dark Thirty or Django Unchained instead.
  • Flight: Not a bad story, but then, so was almost everything else up for Best Original Screenplay. I don't think it'll win anything.
  • Cloud Atlas: Oh, wait. It's not nominated for any Oscars. Not even film editing? Preposterous.

Planning a trip to Japan


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Some people have asked me what they should do when they visit Japan, and I have spent most of the past few days deciding what I will be seeing while I am here. Here are some notes and photos (courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) that might help you with your planning. Before I get into specific places, a few general notes:
  • As much as Japan has many wonderful temples and shrines, you may start to think they are not so wonderful after all if you see many of them over a short amount of time. Therefore I suggest not trying to see even all of the "good" ones that you will be near. Conversely, even if you don't think you are interested in temples, shrines, castles, gardens etc, you should probably visit one of each while in Japan.
  • Travelling inside Japan is expensive, and even if you get a rail pass, unless you are staying for exactly 7 or 14 days I suggest flying in and out of different airports (e.g. in to Tokyo and out of Osaka).
  • There are probably some Japanese cultural things you know a little about that you want to spend some time learning more about too - e.g. sumo, anime, tea ceremonies, onsen (hot springs), car manufacturing, ninjas etc.
  • If you haven't decided yet when you want to visit, this site* will tell you when general events (cherry blossoms, typhoon season etc) occur, or you may want to time your visit to see one of the larger festivals. Even if you don't come during a big festival, there may well be a smaller festival on while you are here.
  • Visiting Japan is probably more about the experiences than the sights than many other countries. I've previously mentioned that eating can often be an adventure. Accommodation can be too with the capsule hotels, love hotels, ryokan, farmhouses, Buddhist temple stays, manga/internet cafes (yes if is possible to sleep in them overnight) etc. Even interacting with the overly polite Japanese people is an experience, from the schoolgirls who want to practice their English to the free tour guides at many attractions.
Sumo ©
Capsule Hotel ©

Tokyo (2+ days)
Tokyo has many interesting and varied suburbs to explore such as Akihabara (electronics), Asakusa (old Tokyo), Ginza (upmarket shops), Harajuku (cosplay), Shibuya (youth culture), Shinjuku (busiest station). Other attractions are the Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo Disneyland and DisneySea (which I have recently discovered is considered by some the best theme park in the world) plus it's fair share of museums, gardens and shrines.
DisneySea ©
Harajuku Girls ©

Kyoto (2+ days)
You'll almost certainly want a few days here as well. Sparred from air raids during WWII, many of the best buildings in the country are here. Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion), Nijo Castle, Kiyomizudera (temple), Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion, which has nothing to do with silver), Fushimi Inari Shrine (long pathways through thousands of torii gates) and lots of others they I'm not going to bother to list.
Fushimi Inari Shrine ©
Kinkakuji (Golden Pavillion) ©

Day trips from Tokyo or Kyoto (0-6 days)
If you only have about a week in Japan, you may end up spending most of your time in Tokyo and Kyoto. There are a few highly recommended places accessible as day trips from either Tokyo or Kyoto that will not add much extra travel time and will allow you to experience a bit of the country side. The best ones from Tokyo are:
  • Nikko - lavish shrine and a national park
  • Kamakura - seaside resort with a "great buddha" and many temples (especially if you can't visit Kyoto)
  • Mt Fuji - see it up close or climb it (usually done overnight in the summer)
Mt Fuji ©
Buddha at Kamakura ©
The best ones from Kyoto are:
  • Nara - Japan's first permanent capital containing many old and important temples
  • Himeji - probably Japan's best castle, but unfortunately under major construction until 2014 so possibly not worth going to now.
  • Mt Koya - Buddhist temple on a mountain where you can stay overnight
  • Osaka - Japan's second most important city
Mt Koya ©
Himeji Castle - doesn't look like this in 2013 due to construction ©

If you have an extra few days, consider one of these two alternatives:
Hiroshima
Hiroshima is famous for the Peace Park. Nearby is Miyajima, the location of the "floating" torii. On the way from Kyoto to Hiroshima, you could stop at Okayama to see one of the three best landscape gardens, Naoshima, an island with a lot of modern art, Himeji, and Osaka (discussed as a day trips from Kyoto).
Miyajima ("floating" torii) ©
Korakuen garden at Okayama ©
Japan Alps
If you are in Japan during the warmer months, you can hike in the Alps or traverse the alpine route (requires seven different types of transport). If you are in Japan between mid-April and mid-June, you can walk through the snow corridor. Nearby is Kanazawa with another one of the three best landscape gardens, Shirakawa-go, famous for distinctive farmhouses, Takayama, a well preserved Japanese town, Matsumoto with what is probably Japan's second best castle, and Yamanouchi, where we saw the snow monkeys.
Shirakawa-go farmhouse accommodation ©
Snow corridor on the alpine route ©

If you've run out of time in Japan, feel free to stop reading now...
Either end of Japan
Both Hokkaido, the large norther island, and Okinawa, consisting of many tropical islands and the associated reefs and beaches, contain many fewer people and much more nature than the rest of Japan.

Hokkaido is popular for winter sports, the Sapporo snow festival, and summer hiking particularly in Daisetsuzan National Park. Shiretoko National Park in the very north east has lakes, waterfalls and, in winter, drift ice. In July, Furano is covered in lavenders.
Lavenders ©
Drift ice ©
The two most likely places in Okinawa you are likely to go would be the main island or the Yaeyama Islands. You can only get between these by flying. Note that if you are a foreign visitor, you can get an air pass which gives you ~$100 flat cost flights which is a good deal for getting down here (residents pay ~$250). The main island is, unsurprisingly, the most developed. It has a well regarded aquarium, many US military and the usual castles, gardens and shrines. A short ferry ride away are the more tranquil islands, including the Kerama islands and Kume. Yaeyama Islands is at the very south near Taiwan (no transport to Taiwan unfortunately). As well as the expected beaches, snorkeling and diving, Iriomote Island is covered in jungle and rivers that can be kayaked.
Iriomote Island ©
Aka Island near Okinawa Island ©

For completeness, I'll also mention a couple of other places I'm planning to visit.

  • Dewa Sanzan in Northern Honshu for the hiking, mountains and shrines.
  • Kyshu: Nagasaki, some volcanoes you can hike near (depending on how active they are at the time), sand bathing, and Takachiho Gorge.

Takachiho Gorge ©
Dewa Sanzan ©
* http://www.japan-guide.com is an amazing site for almost everything related to travelling in Japan. It's likely better than your guide book.

Sapporo Snow Festival

Sapporo from the large hill jump

Last weekend we took advantage of the long weekend to go to Hokkaido and see the Sapporo Snow Festival (pro tip: book early - we booked in December and it was hard to find flights and hotels). Here's how the weekend went.

Royce' Chocolate World
We went here because a friend had said it's the best chocolate in the world (that and it's conveniently located in the airport). Worth going to watch the robots making chocolate.

Odori Park
The biggest ice sculptures (along with lots of little sculptures, food stands, and thousands of people) are contained in the kilometre long park. The biggest ones are life sized building replicas (e.g. Wat Benchamabophit from Thailand) with the addition of a stage for silly Japanese shows. We went here during the day and at night when they are lit up.
Ise ~ Trip to the Myths

The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (Taiwan)
Ski jumping (and falling) at Park Air

Susukino
This is the nightlife part of town which also had a couple of blocks worth of ice sculptures. None of them were large, but they were generally more innovative (and commercial).

They're part of the sculpture
There is an underground mall all the way from Odori to Susukino so people can stay out of the cold. On a Saturday night it's busy but none of the shops are open. Not everyone needs it though, apparently sometimes fashion is more important than the cold.


Sapporo Winter Sports Museum
Like Nagano, Sapporo has also hosted the Winter Olympics (1972) and has a museum dedicated to it. The main attraction of the museum was the simulation machines for 8 or so winter sports where I learnt that speed skating is exhausting. Outside, we caught the chair lift to the top of the actual large hill jump where we discovered that it's almost certainly not as trivial as the simulation would have me believe.
On the left is the chair lift
On the right is the rows where spectator seats were set up
The drop of the actual jump
Otaru
Otaru is a small port town about an hour from Sapporo. It is mostly famous for the crowded picturesque canal, adorned with street lamps, floating lamps, and hand-made-every-single-day-by-putting-ice-in-buckets candle holders. We took a bus to the ocean thirty minutes away to see Kihinkan, a lavish villa dreamt up by the 17 year old daughter of a very successful herring fishing tycoon.
Kihinkan

Making candle holders
We also went to the Otaru Museum, Bank of Japan because it was free. The bank was designed by a famous architect and inside you can pick up 100 million yen worth of imitation notes as well as inspect the security features of the real notes.

A couple of places we ate also seem worth a mention (it seems to me that eating in Japan falls more on the side of attraction than just pure necessity). In Susukino, we found the narrow "Ramen Alley" consisting of many ramen shops that seat about ten people each on a bar around the small kitchen.
"Our" ramen shop
Ramen alley
I had also marked a few vegetarian restaurants on my map (because getting vegetarian food in a not-specifically-for-vegetarians restaurant in Japan is hard). However unlike in Australia or America where you would just show up at the address and the restaurant would be in front of you, all of the building we found had an unassuming entrance leading to around 20 restaurants spread over many floors (pro tip #2: record which floor a place is on as well as it's address).

Hokkaido is also famous for dairy, and this manifests itself in the large number of dedicated ice cream/soft serve shops. Despite the fact that it's below freezing, we tried a few of the appealing flavours offered by one shop in Otaru - apricot, sake, purple sweet potato and sea urchin.

Earthquakes

The only earthquake I had ever been in before moving to Tokyo was the M5.8 in Virginia in 2011, 460km from New York City that I didn't even feel. In Tokyo, I feel like I am being rocked asleep by them every night. Three nights ago, it was a M4.8 139km from Tokyo followed by a M4.9 32km from Tokyo. Two nights ago was a M4.8 28km from Tokyo. Last night was a M6.9 in Hokkaido, 842km from Tokyo but strong enough to make international news, lasting around a minute and easily felt in Tokyo. Don't worry though, in the M9.0 373km from Tokyo in 2011, the fifth largest earthquake since 1900 no buildings in Tokyo collapsed.

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