Rating: 
Summary: why not WHITE SINGLE WOMAN?
Review: A friend recommends this Asian American film to me, but it turns out to be disappointing. Well, I know this is an indie movie, and I dont mind its technic weaknesses. However, since it is indie, it is supposed to be more exciting and vibrant. Well, maybe it is not easy for the indie makers. Anyway, this film (un)fortunately reminds me of a very (ir)relevant movie, WHITE SINGLE WOMAN (or SINGLE WHITE WOMAN), which features Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Lee. Although WSW was made many years ago and it was made in the notorious Hollywood, it has been intriguing to me. Like the pale Shopping For Fangs, WSW also explores female desire and identity (and identity crisis), mimicry, masquerade, and horror elements. WSW focuses on the dialectic between 2 women; it is also the case, though much less convincing, in Shopping for Fangs. I can say WSW is a wonderful thriller even though it seems not so; at the same time, I have to say that Shopping for Fangs fails to show anything about horror despite its self-claim. I dont know why. It seems we still find more creativity in the more mainstream movies? I dont like this fact. I suggest the indie makers can get rid of their whatever baggage and move on, and make NEW movies as good as WSW or something even better. By the way, why do the Asian Americans always stay in their ethnic ghetto? Is it real? Why dont they interact with people outside the ghetto? This surprises me.
Rating:
Summary: why not WHITE SINGLE WOMAN?
Review: A friend recommends this Asian American film to me, but it turns out to be disappointing. Well, I know this is an indie movie, and I dont mind its technic weaknesses. However, since it is indie, it is supposed to be more exciting and vibrant. Well, maybe it is not easy for the indie makers. Anyway, this film (un)fortunately reminds me of a very (ir)relevant movie, WHITE SINGLE WOMAN (or SINGLE WHITE WOMAN), which features Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Lee. Although WSW was made many years ago and it was made in the notorious Hollywood, it has been intriguing to me. Like the pale Shopping For Fangs, WSW also explores female desire and identity (and identity crisis), mimicry, masquerade, and horror elements. WSW focuses on the dialectic between 2 women; it is also the case, though much less convincing, in Shopping for Fangs. I can say WSW is a wonderful thriller even though it seems not so; at the same time, I have to say that Shopping for Fangs fails to show anything about horror despite its self-claim. I dont know why. It seems we still find more creativity in the more mainstream movies? I dont like this fact. I suggest the indie makers can get rid of their whatever baggage and move on, and make NEW movies as good as WSW or something even better. By the way, why do the Asian Americans always stay in their ethnic ghetto? Is it real? Why dont they interact with people outside the ghetto? This surprises me.
Rating: 
Summary: Cubicle drone becomes a lycanthrope
Review: I don't think it's fair to compare to a first feature film to accomplished director like Kar-Wai Wong who directs an award winning cast. It's an early film by emerging directors and it weaves a narrative thread akin to another young filmmaker Shinobu Yaguchi's films "Down the Drain" and "Adrenaline Drive." In these characters fall into a bizzare series of events driven by coincidence that test thier moral fiber.In "Fangs" we add a layer of supernatural--but more accurately a magical realism with So Cal flavor. But the film isn't about the lycanthropy or ganster edge so much as the daily struggles of working in a cubicle and surviving an undesirable marriage. This film was a perfect escape from my cubicle and it doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, Asian or Latin, we all want to escape the cubicle.
Rating:
Summary: Cubicle drone becomes a lycanthrope
Review: I don't think it's fair to compare to a first feature film to accomplished director like Kar-Wai Wong who directs an award winning cast. It's an early film by emerging directors and it weaves a narrative thread akin to another young filmmaker Shinobu Yaguchi's films "Down the Drain" and "Adrenaline Drive." In these characters fall into a bizzare series of events driven by coincidence that test thier moral fiber. In "Fangs" we add a layer of supernatural--but more accurately a magical realism with So Cal flavor. But the film isn't about the lycanthropy or ganster edge so much as the daily struggles of working in a cubicle and surviving an undesirable marriage. This film was a perfect escape from my cubicle and it doesn't matter if you're gay, straight, Asian or Latin, we all want to escape the cubicle.
Rating:
Summary: shopping for fangs
Review: I just saw this film and loved it. Granted, it's obviously low budget but I felt the filmmakers did a great job of playing and stretching with what they had. It's rare to see a film where it's playing with the film medium, trying to say something substantial. Even though I'm not Asian American, I can still really relate to the issues of alienation and identity. I'd definitely take films like this over Hollywood or pretentious indie films any day.
Rating:
Summary: shopping for fangs
Review: I just saw this film and loved it. Granted, it's obviously low budget but I felt the filmmakers did a great job of playing and stretching with what they had. It's rare to see a film where it's playing with the film medium, trying to say something substantial. Even though I'm not Asian American, I can still really relate to the issues of alienation and identity. I'd definitely take films like this over Hollywood or pretentious indie films any day.
Rating: 
Summary: "much better" than Lee's "Drift"
Review: I watched both Lee's SHOPPING FOR FANGS and the newest DRIFT. Well, I prefer the former. SHOPPING FOR FANGSS is much better than DRIFT. I saw DRIFT in the LGBT film festival in San Francisco, along with my campy kinky sistahs, and we were shocked to find how such a simple-minded film like DRIFT could be shown in San Francisco Festival. Comparatively, SHOPPING FOR FANGS is simplified (it can be more complex and deeper), while DRIFT is simply simple-minded (I cannot imagine who would be convinced by its story line???). SHOPPING FOR FANGS shows sparkles of humor, but there is only very long long long whine (whine for what? very vague) in DRIFT. I am surprised how filmmakers can be in their regression; SHOPPING FOR FANGS is obviously much more mature film, though it is much older than DRIFT. One good thing shared by the 2 is their music--the music is good. Without the music, DRIFT will be untolerable in the theatre! I think it is OK to rent SHOPPING FOR FANGS and kill time watching it; but as to DRIFT, please please think hard before you invest your time! (by the way, my SINGLE star is for the music composer only, not for the filmmakers)
Rating:
Summary: "much better" than Lee's "Drift"
Review: I watched both Lee's SHOPPING FOR FANGS and the newest DRIFT. Well, I prefer the former. SHOPPING FOR FANGSS is much better than DRIFT. I saw DRIFT in the LGBT film festival in San Francisco, along with my campy kinky sistahs, and we were shocked to find how such a simple-minded film like DRIFT could be shown in San Francisco Festival. Comparatively, SHOPPING FOR FANGS is simplified (it can be more complex and deeper), while DRIFT is simply simple-minded (I cannot imagine who would be convinced by its story line???). SHOPPING FOR FANGS shows sparkles of humor, but there is only very long long long whine (whine for what? very vague) in DRIFT. I am surprised how filmmakers can be in their regression; SHOPPING FOR FANGS is obviously much more mature film, though it is much older than DRIFT. One good thing shared by the 2 is their music--the music is good. Without the music, DRIFT will be untolerable in the theatre! I think it is OK to rent SHOPPING FOR FANGS and kill time watching it; but as to DRIFT, please please think hard before you invest your time! (by the way, my SINGLE star is for the music composer only, not for the filmmakers)
Rating: 
Summary: San Gabriel in a different light
Review: San Gabriel is an Asian American community in Los Angeles. People go there for cheap Chinese, Hongkongese, Taiwanese, Vietnamese etc foods, plus a newly trendy BOBA milk tea. Usually San Gabriel looks so mundane--yet the makers of the film render it intriguingly nightmarish, with a twist of sex...... A smart film. It is a parody/mockery of genres, but it is also a homage. The queerness in the film is subdued but intense. Well, I cannot reveal anything about this film...... You have to watch it yourself. A very a-typical Asian American film!!!
Rating:
Summary: Not To Be Missed
Review: Sick of the humdrum world of Blockbuster entertainment, I stumbled across this rare gem on the recomendation of a friend. It was refreshing to discover a new, dynamic voice in the increasingly monotonous landscape of american cinema.
On what is obviously a modest budget, the filmmakers were able to tell an engaging and hip story, peopled with well-drawn, unconventional characters. There was dark subject matter, but it was off-set with just the right amount of macabre humor.
I'd recommend this film to anyone. Looking forward to more from Quentin and Justin.
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