Shameless Pimping

Considering the profession of a number of my 'research informants,' I ought to feel bad about using that title.

But never mind. I've come to accept that my life will always be marked in some way by this weird, tawdry stain, an immoral skid mark on the moral fabric of the underwear that is my life.

That metaphor is exhausting to follow, isn't it?

Jesus wept, how do I get painted into these weird corners? Two sentences in and this entry has already gone horribly askew.

Let me start over:

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Recently, people (namely Jason Tobin and Marie Jost) have been asking me about ways and means to keep abreast (!) of local films. Perhaps more importantly, they want to be able to read reliable reviews of the films and thus make choices in a manner other than blindly.

Can't blame them.

Well, I am not the person to whom one ought to look, but I know who is:

Kozo.

He runs www.lovehkfilm.com, and it is the best place to find out about local movies, and pan-Asian film too. He is a conscientious and realistic reviewer, and the site has long been a reference point for me and a whole lot of other people. His reviews are entertaining as hell, and I feel lucky to know him and to have seen a lot of the movies with him, so I can also tell you that he is often much more fair and insightful than I would be.

Example: I don't know what he wrote about Ocean Wave, but I am certain it was better, more informative, and kinder than what I would write: "Waves of nausea followed by waves of boredom, with the occasional scenes of breasts and sex so necessary to 'art' film..."

His reviews are longer than that, too.

He won't let me write reviews, and I can't blame him at all. But he does let me be a judge for the annual awards, and that's why I was watching Ocean Wave last night and hearing myself say all manner of terrible things to the TV.

I'm not trying to promote his website for its own sake. I am telling you that if you want to know about Hong Kong movies, go there. That's the best answer I can give people.

Don't ask me my opinions about anything these days. I'm having a spigot installed in my spleen to make things easier (and to cut down on spotting).