Tag Archives: #film

Maquettes

Posted on December 5, 2015 by d4vid

Visiting the Xi’an Museum, Debbie pointed out that tons of ancient sculptures look like maquettes from some Disney animated feature.  Evil villain, rotund sidekicks, kindhearted old ladies. This one is a caravan driver with his sassy camel sidekick.

Posted in 西安 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Life

Posted on December 2, 2015 by d4vid

Life finds a way.

Posted in 西安 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Floating

Posted on November 30, 2015 by d4vid

The Hanging Temple (悬空寺 or Xuánkōng Sì, literally meaning “floating-in-empty temple”) near Datong is magnificent.  I’m certain it was one of the inspirations for the Western Air Temple in Avatar: The Last Airbender. Just steps upriver from the temple is a dam and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 大同 | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Hero

Posted on November 29, 2015 by d4vid

 For me, this was the highlight of Debbie & my visit to the Jackie Chan Film Museum.  “You are my hero.”

Posted in 上海 | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Barsoom

Posted on November 10, 2015 by d4vid

Before Netflix.  Before DVDs.  Before motherfucking VHS, the only way to watch a movie over and over and over again was syndicated television on the weekends. For a certain generation (um, mine) that means that the movies you ended up … Continue reading →

Posted in 上海 | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Gigawatt

Posted on October 17, 2015 by d4vid

Back to the Future was on television.  Nothing has made me more homesick:  the Burger King in Burbank, the clock tower square on the Universal backlot, the Gamble House.

Posted in 上海 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Button

Posted on October 11, 2015 by d4vid

I don’t love The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as a film, but I think this quote from the script written by Eli Roth — whose late mother was a beloved screenwriting teacher of mine back at USC — is … Continue reading →

Posted in 上海 | Tagged | 1 Comment

Griffith

Posted on October 7, 2015 by d4vid

There is an apocryphal story that a thrifty Golden Age movie producer1 once said, “A tree is a tree, a rock is a rock, we’ll shoot it at Griffith2 Park!” I thought of that quote while riding through the Nikko … Continue reading →

Posted in 日光 | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Irresistible

Posted on October 7, 2015 by d4vid

 The two English nouns on this sign made the trail irresistible.  Abyss?  Bears???  Sign me up! What North America lacks — but what Japan shares with Europe — is the chance of rounding a trail in the middle of nowhere … Continue reading →

Posted in 日光 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Afoot

Posted on October 3, 2015 by d4vid
Posted in 京都 | Tagged | Leave a comment

Bullet II

Posted on October 2, 2015 by d4vid

Flew from Hongqiao to Haneda and then took a bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto.  The trip was a blur of graveyards.  So many. Which reminds me that if you haven’t seen Grave of the Fireflies then you should.  It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 京都 | Tagged | 2 Comments

Visitor

Posted on September 22, 2015 by d4vid

The Amarano is a boutique hotel a few blocks away from my parents’ townhouse.  DWA used to put up visiting PDIers here.  Back when the hotel was named The Graciela.  Back when there was a PDI. My room was decorated with … Continue reading →

Posted in L.A. | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vacation

Posted on September 16, 2015 by d4vid

National Lampoon’s Vacation was on (Asia) Cinemax and I was struck by how green Valencia was back then.  (Six Flags’ Magic Mountain as Wally World.)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Impossible

Posted on August 3, 2015 by d4vid

There is a lot to like about Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.  I loved how the score interpolated both Laszlo Schifrin’s original theme song (5/4 time signature, bitches!) and Pucini’s Turandot. And Christopher McQuarrie has grown into a solid action … Continue reading →

Posted in San Francisco | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Uber

Posted on July 31, 2015 by d4vid

So many fascinating Uber drivers on this visit.  One had strong opinions on the Mission: Impossible films and the work of the Wachowskis.  Another brought his family to Sunnyvale from Kathmandu years before the earthquake. But my favorite was of … Continue reading →

Posted in San Francisco | Tagged | Leave a comment