Teleport City: Now a punditocracy

Salon film critic Andrew O'Hehir has quoted both Keith and myself in an excellent article he's just posted on the disappearance of Asian films from U.S. theater screens. (By the way, he doesn't count Slumdog Millionaire in that formulation, despite the fact that some of his readers who commented seem to think that it's an Asian film.) This is most impressive in Keith's case, because he has never actually slept with Andrew O'Hehir. Okay, I haven't either; we're just good friends.

As the last water buffalo fades into the sunset

Many of you -- well, one of you -- have asked me what I'm going to do now that I've wrapped up Thai-style Kaiju, my long series of reviews covering the work of Thai special effects pioneer Sompote Sands. Well, for now I'm just going to write about what other people -- well, one other person -- have written about Thai-style Kaiju. By which I refer to the wonderful overview of the series that Wise Kwai has posted over at his Thai Film Journal. Wise Kwai has done a far better job of summing-up, organizing and putting these reviews in context than I ever could, and I really appreciate his effort -- especially since having to type one more word about Sompote Sands would have forced me to hit myself in the side of the head with an industrial stapler until I forgot that there was even a country called Thailand, much less a person living there by that name.

I read the news today... HOLY %$#@?!

I don't know what's more amazing: That the Indian Express interviewed me for an article about Bollywood bloggers, or that they then went ahead and actually published portions of my drunken ravings for public consumption. But I jest, of course. Why wouldn't they have done? After all, I have an award that says I'm charming.

So, to any new readers coming to 4DK by way of the Express article, I say welcome, and apologize for the fact that this is one of those very rare weeks during which I actually have not posted any reviews of Bollywood movies. (Pathetic.) I was going to try and post one this weekend, but the demands of the season got in the way, and as a result I am empty-handed. As compensation, here is an awesome picture of Amrish Puri in a disco suit:

Now, for those of you who would prefer not to read about Thai movies about giant ogres with tusks who grow man-boobs, or Filipina superheroes, or movies in which Polly Shang Kwan can stretch her arms like Plasticman, you can simply scroll through all of my many Bollywood-related posts by following this link. Enjoy!

Mmm, delicious kudos

“This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Darnit, I am charming, arent I?

Memsaab gifted me -- along with seven other actually deserving bloggers -- with the above award, and it's a real honor, especially coming from the person who started me on the dark path toward Dara Singh addiction. Aside from her witty reviews and uncanny eye for the perfect screencap, what I really love about Memsaab is that, while obviously a woman of refined tastes, she has the ability to appreciate those unique pleasures that can only come from pure trash -- a fact which is evidenced by her appreciation for this blog. When it comes to the pulpy products of Bollywood's more shady backlots, I've come to view her recommendations as law, and have rarely been disappointed

So now, in gloriously preference-concealing alphabetical order, are those whom I have chosen to share the L.U.V. with:

Beth Loves Bollywood. I'm going to out myself right now and admit that I really don't get the whole Shashi Kapoor thing, but it's a compliment to Beth that that doesn't detract in the least from the enjoyment I get out of reading her increasingly Shashi-centric blog. In addition to being an engaging and hella funny writer, her inquisitiveness and eagerness to spark debate among her readers makes for one of the most interesting and informative comment sections on any film blog I've read.

The Horror!? But behind all of the horror lies a thoughtful and sensitive soul. I used to be bothered that this blog never featured any images of any kind, but now I've come to like it, because, when I visit, I imagine that this is what Denis's room looks like: pitch darkness illuminated only by the dim glow of text on the monitor. Of course, the most frightening thing about Denis is his intelligence. He is a fellow of expansive tastes who is able to discuss an astonishing variety of films with an equal level of wit, eloquence and insight. Plus, he has managed with his reviews to make me reconsider my own uncharitable opinion of films on more than one occasion, which is either a testament to his persuasiveness or my own spinelessness.

Permission to Kill. As a man who set out to watch every Santo movie ever made, I fully understand the kind of sick impulse that drove my Teleport City colleague David Foster to take on the Sisyphean task of viewing every spy movie made in every country in the world ever. But it is not just sympathy that makes me include him here. David's meticulous cataloguing of those films has not only lead me to a number of that genre's little-known gems, but also spared me the grief of suffering through some of its more regrettable misfires.

Roti Kapada aur Rum. I love the way Rum writes. I feel like she's right there, shouting excitedly into my ear. I literally have to move back a few inches from the monitor sometimes. She has also made me determined to find a context in which I can use the terms "horny porny" and "backwass" in one or more of my reviews.

The Search for Weng Weng. I appreciate Andrew Leavold's blog both for the wealth of information on Filipino pulp cinema it provides and as a document of obsession, which is something -- duh! -- I can totally relate to.

Soft Film: Vintage Chinese Pop Cinema. Of course, I'm a little mad at David for starting this blog, because I feel I can no longer hit him up for cool images and ephemera from super-rare Hong Kong films to spice up 4DK. So selfish! This, of course, doesn't stop me from reading his blog religiously and enjoying it immensely. David has long been engaged in a lonely struggle -- through Soft Film and his Connie Chan specific site, Movie-Fan Princess -- to increase awareness among English speaking film fans of the joys of Hong Kong's vintage Cantonese language cinema, and its an effort that I, for one, really appreciate.

Valerie Atherton's Playground and Intellectual Department. Kryptonite for humorless fanboys. To tell the truth, I have absolutely no clue who writes this blog, but it's awesome.

Wise Kwai's Thai Film Journal. Wise Kwai's dedication to exposing an English speaking audience to the whole of Thai cinema -- from the classic crowd pleasers of Mitr Chaibancha and Sombat Methanee, to the most current horror films grossing out extreme Asian film fans, to the next artistically aspiring festival favorites -- is an outstanding example of the type of online film journalism that is serving more and more to broaden the horizons of film fans on a truly globe-spanning scale.