Added a link in the “Other Writings” page to papers I’ve done in the past. They focus primarily on literature and films with an academic tone. So while some of them exhibit moments of inspiration, a lot of them tend to embellish on the particular topic they cover. Nevertheless they spark nostalgic memories of times when I was forced to have a thought or an opinion.    Sam.

Watery Eyes

So I got through a round of Asian horror films with mixed feelings. Initial reaction to Dark Water was similar to my reaction to the Japanese Ring (I can’t stand how they spell it Ringu in English) where the beginning and middle was slow with nothing spectacular in the production value but the end has a certain charm in how it can make you flinch with very little gore or violence. Hell I was so enthused by the simplicity of Dark Water that I showed it to my sister and Mom who don’t like scary movies – I get a kick out of seeing their reactions but at the same time I would never subject them to anything inappropriate or offensive. The Eye 2 was a bit slow for me as well with an ending that aspired to be a Sixth Sense but didn’t quite make it. I guess they tried to parallel death and birth and the symptoms of pregnancy but it all didn’t quite gel. The cinematography was nice and slick with some interesting framing and simple effects (although the effects were certainly more elaborate than Dark Water). The main character wasn’t very believable and the plot just way too convenient; Dark Water had similar plot conveniences toward the end but some of the themes were much more subtle, which I appreciated (like the paralleling the neglect of the building with the neglect of a child). In comparing all these related movies I would still say I enjoyed Gore Verbinski’s remake The Ring because of it’s super slick visual style and endless cross references in terms of imagery, plot, and characters. Sam.

So Many Dreams in One Night

A couple of strange dreams last night. The first had me in an old style steam engine train that was traveling through grape growing countryside. The group of people on the train were more like tourists and we were planning on making a stop somewhere for lunch and one of the older ladies in the back mentioned a place that made really good spring rolls. We were trying to determine which stop was the right stop for some tasty spring rolls but all the grape fields were nothing but barren patches of dirt so I asked the conductor why there weren’t and places that were making spring rolls and he said that this was summer and not spring. Later in the dream the train got stuck in a sand storm and we had to work together to push the train back – the wheels would slip as the sand made the tracks dusty and impossible for traction.

 

I had a couple of other dreams in between but I don’t quite remember them. The last dream I had involved some Mafia boss that I worked for who was in trouble as a rival mob was planning a hit on his family. The boss’s father wanted to bring back some old-school gangsters from the movies to fight the rival but the son decided to hire a Hollywood weapons specialist that supplied him with bazookas and other ridiculously over-powered ordinance. In a flash we all realized that a lone gunman was targeting the boss’s father who was asleep at his sister’s house and by the time we rushed to the house it was too late. I had to send foot soldiers left and right to search for the shooter who had used a modified pellet gun, one of 4 that I had sold to friends – one of those friends was Jeff Kanjanapanga! Strange!    Sam.

Dark Water

Just saw the original Japanese version of the movie Dark Water. Slow in the beginning with some chills in the end – not quite the same effect as Ring (same writer and director). The story didn’t have any real surprises and the use of water as a mode of binding all the plot elements was weak at best. Some end scenes made me hold my breath but in the end the experience seemed to lacking. It did inspire some thoughts on a horror short with the old woman and the painting and I hope to further develop something for October. I just remembered the parallels I associated with the horror short idea and Fritz Lang’s Scarlet Street. A little scare goes a long way to get the gears churning.    Sam.

Director Sam K Yah-Know!

I added a couple of images of the short films I’ve been working in the “Projects” section. The films may be submitted to festivals in the near future so I won’t be posting the actual films on the Internet. But if you do have an interest in seeing the films you can always e-mail and I may be able to send you a DVD copy of my demo reel which includes these films and my work in 3D animation.    Sam.

Good 2 Go

Now all my website homepages are structured around Blogger so that I can regularly post updates in accordance to what I’m actively working on. Skysyndicate.com will emphasize my work in 3D animation and FX with updates on any current projects I’m working on as well as client relations and insight. Gnet-x.com will continue to be my hub for writing and intellectual property development from concept to completion. Yanoproperties.com (Yano Family) will chronicle my personal endeavors as a family man responsible, not only for my own personal growth, but also for the wellbeing of those around me and even abroad. So I hope this opens the door to unwritten chapters of a life fulfilled! Peace!

 

Sam.

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