The past few days since the devastating earthquake/tsunami in Japan, I was asked by numerous people if I was ok. First, let me say that aside from the extra arm coming out of my torso, I think I am safe from the radiation and nuclear fallout.
No, in all seriousness, everything is fine here. The tsunami of course went east toward the states so the country was spared from all of that destruction. We also have had no threat of radiation (at least not yet) but I'm sure someone will fill us in here if they hear anything (cough *Agatha* cough). So please do not worry about any fallout from the disaster just yet as everything is all good.
Everything else is going pretty good around here. The pain in the ass in the previous post is still around as she has not been fired yet but I was told that last week she was seen not teaching and eating dinner in the classroom. This made me laugh as she obviously is clueless about how to be a productive member of a school...and probably society for that matter. Every piece of food magically disappears from the teachers room when she is in there. She's the most gluttonous Korean probably in this town. My 16-year old student told me that her perfume smelled bad too. That gave me a good laugh.
It's also amazing how some things, no matter how old are truly universal around the world. Yes it sort of dawned on me since I live a block away from a McDonald's and there are other western food and products in the town but something happened in class today that truly shocked me to the point where I was speechless. I came into class randomly whistling one of the worst songs of all time thinking nothing of the fact. And then since I was getting to the end of crescendo and just blurted out "I said HEY!" and this 13-year old Korean boy, without skipping a beat went "What's Going On!" and continued to sing the chorus of 4 Non Blondes- What's Going On
Yup, this dismal song
How does a 13-year old Korean boy possibly know this song? Yeah I would expect The Beatles or Usher or any number of other acts but 4 Non Blondes? Of course, this does not let me off the hook for openly whistling 4 Non Blondes but that's not the point. The point is that somehow this song has a universal appeal that bridges generations. I don't know why I find this so fascinating but I do.
Not much else to report here. With the weather getting nicer I'm sure I will travel more around this country and do more outdoorsy things, because obviously when you think of me, you think outdoor activities. The last time I did anything like that I almost collapsed off a fucking hill in Israel which of course was subsequently followed up by almost breaking my ankle falling out of a bus. Needless to say outdoor activities aren't my favorite things but I am going to try and experience as much of this country as possible. And the Korean baseball league starts soon and there is already a trip planned for my first game on my birthday in a few weeks. Hopefully it will better be warmer than the birthday game in 2007 at the Stadium where there was about 9 people there on a 22 degree day to see a game that ended up being a blowout for the Yanks (according to Baseball-reference.com the first pitch temperature was 48 degrees which has to be a lie. If it was 48 at first pitch then it was 22 at 5th pitch). Anyway, I digress. The game should be a fun experience.
That's about it for now. So until I check in again this was me obviously telling you What's Going On!!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
Where The Hell Have I Been?
Don't ask me why I haven't written in over a month since I have no viable reason for not doing so. Instead I have laid low and done my own thing and hopefully let people spend countless hours wondering where I disappeared to and what is going on in my life. Since I'm fairly certain no one did that, I'll write another post to quench everyone's desire that didn't exist.
Anyway, the big news has only happened in the past few days. As far as hagwon horror stories go, mine isn't that bad. Yes Grace and I have been overworked incredibly but that is not the problem. The problem comes with our supervisor. She is in charge of all the teachers and is the definition of a disgusting human being. It is not just me that dislikes her, but everyone in the school does. I won't go into the details here of what makes her such a horrible person, but I'm sure everyone has come across a teacher, co-worker or boss that they have had in their lives and we can swap stories at a later time.
But two months of bitchiness and nastiness culminated in me losing my shit on her last week in front of everyone. I said nothing that I regret and in fact, because of my blow-up and subsequent self-initiated meeting with one of the bosses, she is probably on her way to getting fired. But since late Thursday (the blow-up happened on Wednesday and a few mini-fights Thursday morning) I have been in a great mood. It is like completely ripping into this woman whom no one likes took so much stress off me and I have felt fantastic ever since.
I know many people stay away from verbal confrontations. But in some cases, they just need to happen and I have no regrets at all for doing it. There was so much pent up anger and frustration that to let it all out on someone who truly deserved everything that was said to her is so relieving. I urge everyone, if the situation does not lead to either A. you losing your job or B. you getting the shit kicked out of you, that you should go off on someone who is making your life hell. I have been floating since last Thursday and now that because of it she is probably going to be fired and away from making all our lives hell even further proves that I did the right thing.
In other news, life has been good. The weather is getting nicer, two new foreign teachers should be coming soon and baseball season is around the corner in which I will be checking out many games over here. As usual, my family has many extra Yankees tickets for Sunday games this upcoming season so please contact me if you are interested in games.
I don't know what much else to say. As Spring continues to slowly arrive, I'm sure I will explore more of the country and do some other things that I will gladly share with you guys but since I haven't done that, I won't use up anymore of your time reading this. So until the next post, just know that I am Winning!
Anyway, the big news has only happened in the past few days. As far as hagwon horror stories go, mine isn't that bad. Yes Grace and I have been overworked incredibly but that is not the problem. The problem comes with our supervisor. She is in charge of all the teachers and is the definition of a disgusting human being. It is not just me that dislikes her, but everyone in the school does. I won't go into the details here of what makes her such a horrible person, but I'm sure everyone has come across a teacher, co-worker or boss that they have had in their lives and we can swap stories at a later time.
But two months of bitchiness and nastiness culminated in me losing my shit on her last week in front of everyone. I said nothing that I regret and in fact, because of my blow-up and subsequent self-initiated meeting with one of the bosses, she is probably on her way to getting fired. But since late Thursday (the blow-up happened on Wednesday and a few mini-fights Thursday morning) I have been in a great mood. It is like completely ripping into this woman whom no one likes took so much stress off me and I have felt fantastic ever since.
I know many people stay away from verbal confrontations. But in some cases, they just need to happen and I have no regrets at all for doing it. There was so much pent up anger and frustration that to let it all out on someone who truly deserved everything that was said to her is so relieving. I urge everyone, if the situation does not lead to either A. you losing your job or B. you getting the shit kicked out of you, that you should go off on someone who is making your life hell. I have been floating since last Thursday and now that because of it she is probably going to be fired and away from making all our lives hell even further proves that I did the right thing.
In other news, life has been good. The weather is getting nicer, two new foreign teachers should be coming soon and baseball season is around the corner in which I will be checking out many games over here. As usual, my family has many extra Yankees tickets for Sunday games this upcoming season so please contact me if you are interested in games.
I don't know what much else to say. As Spring continues to slowly arrive, I'm sure I will explore more of the country and do some other things that I will gladly share with you guys but since I haven't done that, I won't use up anymore of your time reading this. So until the next post, just know that I am Winning!
Monday, February 7, 2011
When In Seoul...
Upon arriving at Express Bus Terminal in Seoul, South Korea, one would not think that you are entering the second largest metropolitan area in the world (according to the 2009 Atlas numbers). Not quite on the outskirts of the city, the area around the terminal does not scream like a major world hub. In fact, there was no difference between the previous 20-30 minutes on the road in which I figured was the suburbs but had no clue that it was probably Seoul Proper.
But after a brief subway ride we entered the heart of the city which to my dismay was also pretty quiet. See, it was Lunar New Year so for at least the first two days (Wednesday and Thursday) the city cleared out. But since it is a huge holiday and got three days off of work I figure I would go explore this vast metropolis and see what a major Asian hub was like. It took a few days but I gradually learned what it was like and can honestly say that it was awesome. This next, fairly long post, will hopefully give you some insight into the experience.
For starters, almost immediately you realize how further advanced the Asians are technologically. This is a typical subway car and as you can see, it is much bigger than most subways, especially in New York (try getting on the 4 train at rush hour). But the best part is that there is full cell phone service throughout the underground subway (underground subway is a redundancy I realize that). That is certainly some technology I would love in New York. Meanwhile, the pictures on the subway show that the benches are going to be facing apart from each other back to back to make even more room.
But after a brief subway ride we entered the heart of the city which to my dismay was also pretty quiet. See, it was Lunar New Year so for at least the first two days (Wednesday and Thursday) the city cleared out. But since it is a huge holiday and got three days off of work I figure I would go explore this vast metropolis and see what a major Asian hub was like. It took a few days but I gradually learned what it was like and can honestly say that it was awesome. This next, fairly long post, will hopefully give you some insight into the experience.
Of course, they can ruin all the goodwill they did by having posters up explaining how to properly wear your crocs on the escalator. I expect this in Kansas and not so much in Seoul but so be it. I got a good chuckle out of it.
North Korea/DMZ Tour:
The trip grew from a tiny idea in my head to visit the city for 5 days to what it ended up being which was a giant trip for a total of 11 Jinju people coming and going throughout the duration. The pinnacle of the trip was going to be a USO Tour of the DMZ which is of course the line which separates the South from the North. The idea of stepping onto North Korea territory intrigued many of us so we decided to try it out.
Unfortunately it was not all that it could have been due to the huge layer of fog that engulfed the northern part of the country that day. This really only negatively affected us in that we couldn't see The Road To Nowhere, where you officially can't across into the opposite country (the last people to do so was in the late 60s) and the panoramic views of North Korea which was a disappointment. But we did get to stand in North Korea in the room where the Armistice was signed which ended the Korean War and created the DMZ line in the first place.
This was the agreement they made us sign prior to doing the brunt of the tour. The first line for those of you who can't see it says "The visit to the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom will entail into a hostile area and possibility of injury or death as a direct result of enemy action." They sure know how to get you excited for your tour. But I suppose being an incident casualty which would ultimately lead to WWIII is a good way to go out. But regardless, they put you at ease prior to departure into the base.
The snow-covered speed bump thing there is the official border between the North and the South. I am on the North border when this picture is taken.
The table in the center is where the Armistice was signed. Again, the side I am on is considered to be North Korea.
These are the badasses who guard the room in which we were in. They are in a ready tae kwon do position at all times ready to completely kick the shit out of anyone who gets out of line. They are like the guards at Buckingham Palace except not pussies.
And here is me mocking the guy who can probably kill me with a flick. I look stupid but it's clearly worth it.
The tour continued with a trip down to Tunnel #3 which was the third tunnel that the South found built by the North with the intentions of a sneak attack on Seoul. It was discovered in the late 70s. Four tunnels have been discovered in total but they believe there could be up to ten more undiscovered. We couldn't take pictures of the tunnel but it's a huge walk down and therefore a horrible walk back up which consisted of shortness of breath, sweating and other out-of-shape feelings that I get when I partake in anything that can be considered exercise. But it was worth it cause I got to see these creepy statues outside of the tunnel.
The tour concluded with a visit to the only train station that connects the South to the North. It was a typical train station but rumor has it that the North Korean railway is ten times more efficient than New Jersey Transit.
This is us with the foggy haze blocking North Korea from us.
Gyeongbokgung Palace:
This palace was reconstructed in 1867 and has been standing ever since. It stretches back for probably a good two miles and has numerous buildings. As you can see, one of the many mountains in the Seoul area is in the background. On a nicer day it would have been a great shot. The palace is not unlike any other Asian palace you have seen on TV but it is amazing to see just how long it stretches back and all the mini-buildings there are to it.
This continues the trend of me taking pictures with guards protecting important landmarks in the country. Unlike the ones at the DMZ, these are dressed like bearded Raggedy Anne dolls so the mocking is deserved.
Areas of the city:
In a city of over 20 million people, it should not be surprising that there are many foreigners walking the streets yet it still took me by surprise. Many foreigners, both teachers working in the city, and military members, go out in Itaewon. It seems to be a cliched place to go but with the number of food options they have there, I had no problem partaking in that cliche. On top of dozens of western bars, the food options were limitless, all culminating in a pastrami sandwich with a ginger ale on Sunday afternoon which was the best hangover food imaginable. This might not sound exciting, but after 2 1/2 months, it hit the spot perfectly.
Hongdae is a part of the city where a lot of the nightlife is. It is packed with restaurants, bars and clubs. I really liked the area and it had a nice homey feeling to it. Of course my constant craving to dance and club was fulfilled so that's another thing I don't have to worry about not having for a while. The really good news is that these clubs/bars love the same top 40 pop crap that the States do I got my monthly quota of Usher, Rihanna and Super Bowl Halftime Show Embarrasement The Black Eyed Peas.
Myong-dong was a big shopping area that was essentially dominated by coffee-shops and novelty shops although they did have what seemed to be the biggest Forever 21 I have ever seen. It was here, on a Friday afternoon, that I truly got my first taste of a busy Asian city and their mannerisms. Essentially the people in the city could not give a shit if you happened to be walking right by them as they will bump into you, stop short, cut you off or ignore you at any opportunity. I sort of got used to it but if you don't like getting run over by swarms of people then go elsewhere.
This was Myong-dong at night. It is a snapshot of how I imagined Asian cities to look like...bright lights with signs crawling up the sides in tight streets. Another thing to notice is that it doesn't matter how many people are on the roads, there was always someone (or multiple people) driving on these roads. If the street is wide enough then they will drive on it. Why they think going through hundreds of people on a small road is better than the highway is beyond me.
Yes it was an official MLB apparel store which got me excited. The clothes pretty much sucked but there were MLB officially licensed jeans which I have never seen before.
Random Buildings and Others:
The only places open at 4am to eat by the hotel was a little Korean joint. When you are so used to pizza and bagels and other stuff at that hour, it's hard to imagine other food but these dumplings were the perfect drunk food. And it costs like three bucks in American money so it is well worth it.
The whole restaurant in which the dumplings came from. Not big at all but it was so worth it.
No idea the story behind why there is a giant rabbit holding a kite in what looks like a giant light brite. But it looked cool.
At the Korean War Memorial
Building with a giant hole in the middle of it.
No clue what these are either except they are kinda freaky.
All in all the trip to Seoul was a fantastic getaway from the smaller city of Jinju. We didn't have a bad meal, had some great nights out on the town and stepped foot in North Korea. There is much more to do and hopefully the opportunity will arise soon to head back and explore more of the city.
Be back whenever with another post. Until then, let us all celebrate that since the Super Bowl is over, it is officially baseball season, a.k.a. the greatest seven months of the year. The Yanks have a great team if it were 2004 so I expect both big things from them, and my new adventure as a freshman in college.
Monday, January 17, 2011
2010 Year In Movies
So after waiting weeks The King's Speech finally came online. Seeing that it is a major awards player I figured I should see it before doing a top 10. Of course I just finished it and it probably won't factor in anywhere in here so serves me right for waiting but so be it.
2010 was an interesting year in movies. For me, it was very top heavy with a good, strong 13 movies that any year could make up a top 10. There was also a lot of very good movies which made up most of the year. These movies range from 127 Hours to Get Low to even Easy A which are good but not necessarily great movies but certainly good. These, to me, make up the majority of the year. Of course there was a lot of crap too which I might touch on. So without further ado, the top 10 movies of 2010.
10. FAIR GAME: Political movies are always a tough sell in the U.S. and this one came and went with barely anyone noticing it. It is about the outing of Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent by Karl Rove to get back at her husband for printing an article saying that the Bush administration had faulty intelligence which led to the war in Iraq. Politics aside, the movie is well-paced and doesn't get bogged down by so many political movie cliches that could have ruined it. Sean Penn is great (when is he not) and Naomi Watts continues to show how versatile she is. Hopefully more people will find this On Demand or Netflix later on
9. TOY STORY 3: If you saw this and didn't start tearing up at one of the now two infamous scenes then frankly you don't have a heart. I didn't love the second one and Pixar, for me at least, is usually hit or miss, but this one is as good as the original one 15 years earlier. Frankly, there is no better way to end this story then how they did. I tend to go toward darker movies but I have a sweet side when I want to have one and this movie can bring it out in everyone.
8. THE GHOST WRITER: Another movie that seems to be on no one's radar and hopefully puts Roman Polanski back on it. It's a movie about a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) writing his memoirs that might reveal a secret that would have awful consequences on the rest of the world. His previous ghost writer was found dead so a new one, Ewen McGregor, is called in to finish the novel, but of course he gets caught up in trying to figure out the mystery himself. It's a fantastic thriller with a twist ending that does not insult the viewer. And Tom Wilkinson has a quick cameo which is always welcoming. Frankly he might be one of the top 5 actors working today.
7. SHUTTER ISLAND: Fuck everyone that says the movie was predictable. Yes I have heard from many people that the third act ruined it for them but I didn't see it that way. Scorsese is a master and even though this movie isn't one of the best Scorsese movies he has ever done (it's no higher than 9 and even that might be high) but it shows how he can do any genre. The music choices were brilliant as was the entire mood and feel of the movie to make us feel that we are trapped on this island. The leads were great (rarely are DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo not great) but it is the one and done scenes by Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley that really steal the show.
6. GREEN ZONE: Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass made two spy classics in the Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum so it's not surprising that their latest collaboration was so good yet criminally underseen. It is an Iraq war movie which most of the public has no desire to see but that doesn't take away the fact that it is a fantastic war movie. The latter half of the movie was shot beautifully and provides action scenes that have not really been seen in movies. It's another movie in which its politics I agree with and that certainly can turn people off but as a visual experience, it should interest everyone...especially those who like just kick-your-ass action movies.
5. TRUE GRIT: Let me start by saying I hated the original 1969 True Grit. John Wayne is the most overrated and boring actor of all time and that movie was no different. So when it was announced that The Coen Brothers were going to remake it I was less than thrilled but said I would see it because rarely do The Coen Brothers make a bad movie. And this is easily the surprise of the year. The movie takes everything that sucked about the original and made it entertaining. Most of that has to do with the casting. Jeff Bridges is a great Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon shows again why he is one of the best. But it's out-of-nowhere newcomer Hailee Steinfeld that stole the show from both veterans in one of the best debut performances I have ever seen. That girl is going to be a star and will hopefully win an Oscar for this performance. Unfortunately the Academy has said Carter Burwell's score is ineligible due to some BS rules which is a disappointment since it was the best music in a movie all year.
4. BLACK SWAN: It's amazing that this movie isn't even the biggest mindfuck of the year (that's still to come). But Darren Aronofsky, the genius behind PI and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM has given us another masterpiece. Not many movies centered around ballet can interest me but this movie certainly did. The last 40 minutes were some of the most emotionally draining scenes I have ever seen in film and I would watch it again in a heartbeat. And for the people I recommended it to, I tried stressing that although the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis lesbian scene is incredibly hot, it is also tasteful and important to the movie. Overall, Portman should cake walk to the Best Actress Oscar this year (and rightfully make us forget that Sandra Bullock won last year for the THE BLIND SIDE which still is leaving a shitty taste in my mouth)
3. THE TOWN: Black Swan is the better movie but The Town ranks higher because of rewatchability. Ben Affleck's second directed movie is a fantastic heist movie with 2 iconic scenes which will go down in the genre's history. The fact that no one staged a shootout in a baseball stadium before is pretty odd but Affleck pulls it off. Everyone in it is fantastic including Chris Cooper (in another one scene and done performance) and the late Pete Pothleswaite. Heist movies can be hit or miss and most of the time they are terrible or just plain good. But The Town manages to overcome all of the cliches and become a staple in the genre. Hopefully Affleck continues making interesting film like this
2. INCEPTION: The fact that Inception is not #1 just shows how strong that movie is. Frankly, what is not to like about it? It's an insanely intelligent sci-fi/action/adventure/heist movie that makes the viewers follow every detail to put the story together and even then it might not make any sense. Frankly, Christopher Nolan had my loyalty after MEMENTO but now after THE DARK KNIGHT and INCEPTION he is officially the best filmmaker working today. Inception 100% holds up on second and third viewings and yet I still can't say I fully know what happened and whether or not it was a dream all along. Frankly though, I can see this overtime moving into the #1 slot of 2010 but for now it will have to settle at #2.
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK: The sign of a great movie for me is if I felt it could have gone longer and I wouldn't have cared. After 2 1/2 hrs of The Social Network, I decided I could have watched another 2 hours and would not have been bored once. Frankly, there is not a single flaw in this movie. From the first scene, which harkens back to HIS GIRL FRIDAY from 1940 (the best screwball comedy of that era) to the last scene, it is just a perfect movie experience. Jesse Eisenberg, who has been great and underseen since breaking out in RODGER DODGER almost a decade ago busts down every barrier and gives a legendary performance. Even Justin Timberlake is fantastic here and I'm actually excited to see where his acting career goes. For the people holding out on seeing it because "it's a movie about Facebook" I hope they realize how stupid that reasoning is and how not truthful it is. The movie is about so much more than Facebook. I can only hope that everyone takes the time to watch it and appreciate it.
THE THREE RUNNERS UP
I said before there were 13 movies that can really make up this list so here are those three very briefly.
#11 Cemetery Junction. It is a Ricky Gervais directed coming of age drama set in 1960s England but it's really fucking good. From what I can get, it's like Dazed And Confused just set across the world in a different culture but the same themes are relevant. It also has the best usage of a Led Zeppelin song ever
#12 Animal Kingdom. Movies from Australia I usually find overrated but this one about a crime family with a mother that would do anything to save her sons from prison is a true gem. Ben Mendelsson is the breakout star here with an extremely evil performance. The accents are tough to understand but hopefully that won't stop people
#13 The Fighter. It's not as great as some reviewers have made it out to be but Christian Bale and Amy Adams are absolutely terrific in a very fine boxing movie. Micky Ward's best fights were with the late Arturo Gatti so if you want to watch the real Micky Ward fight then find that trilogy of fights cause it's a marvel what they did and the director made the right choice by not even attempting to film it.
WORST DEVELOPING TREND:
What's with all the good movies being set in Massachusetts? Five of the top 13 movies are set in Massachusetts which makes me kind of sick. We need to stop giving this state credit and we really need to stop letting them make great movies there
MOST OVERRATED:
Every year there is a movie that sneaks into the end of the year discussion which I just don't get. Last year there were more obvious choices (see THE BLIND SIDE and AVATAR as the big culprits). This year you had to dig far to find WINTER'S BONE, a movie that people found "chilling" yet I found "fucking unbearably boring." Don't even bother watching it. It's not even a good bad that its funny. It's just unbearable
WORST YEAR FOR A BIG STAR
Enough with Russell Crowe. Seriously. First he gives us Robin Hood which was 2 hours of an extended yawn including the great "I declare him to be an outlawwwwww" which was laughably bad in the trailers and even worse in the movie (yes I know that wasn't Crowe but it hurts the movie). He then follows it up with the even more asinine The Next Three Days which was so insipid, I spent the entire time wondering why Liam Neeson showed up for a one and done scene paycheck. Nicolas Cage might get the notice for making shitty movies, but I've stopped seeing them. Crowe needs to be put on this list.
SCARIEST SEX SCENE
For those of you who haven't seen SPLICE, please let me apologize for ruining what might be the most insane scene ever in a movie. But Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley are superstar genetic scientists trying to splice a kid from god knows what. Basically the spliced female/animal hybrid starts getting feelings for her father scientist Brody and somehow by the 75 minute mark, they are going at it on a makeshift barnyard laboratory. It's appalling and hysterical all at the same time.
BEST COMEDY
Will Ferrell is an enigma. He can make genius movies like ANCHORMAN and make such huge crap like BLADES OF GLORY and LAND OF THE LOST. But he obviously finds the right connection while working with Adam McKay because THE OTHER GUYS is a hugely funny movie that the jokes I feel can work multiple times. I feel this can be a great quotable movie like Anchorman once more people see it but its one of the better titles in the Will Ferrell category.
BEST QUOTE
Finally, the line of the year goes to the cult hero Danny Trejo with three simple words: "Machete don't text"
Back to Korea stuff next time. For now, enjoy this and have fun bashing my opinions as most of you do anyway.
2010 was an interesting year in movies. For me, it was very top heavy with a good, strong 13 movies that any year could make up a top 10. There was also a lot of very good movies which made up most of the year. These movies range from 127 Hours to Get Low to even Easy A which are good but not necessarily great movies but certainly good. These, to me, make up the majority of the year. Of course there was a lot of crap too which I might touch on. So without further ado, the top 10 movies of 2010.
10. FAIR GAME: Political movies are always a tough sell in the U.S. and this one came and went with barely anyone noticing it. It is about the outing of Valerie Plame as a covert CIA agent by Karl Rove to get back at her husband for printing an article saying that the Bush administration had faulty intelligence which led to the war in Iraq. Politics aside, the movie is well-paced and doesn't get bogged down by so many political movie cliches that could have ruined it. Sean Penn is great (when is he not) and Naomi Watts continues to show how versatile she is. Hopefully more people will find this On Demand or Netflix later on
9. TOY STORY 3: If you saw this and didn't start tearing up at one of the now two infamous scenes then frankly you don't have a heart. I didn't love the second one and Pixar, for me at least, is usually hit or miss, but this one is as good as the original one 15 years earlier. Frankly, there is no better way to end this story then how they did. I tend to go toward darker movies but I have a sweet side when I want to have one and this movie can bring it out in everyone.
8. THE GHOST WRITER: Another movie that seems to be on no one's radar and hopefully puts Roman Polanski back on it. It's a movie about a former British Prime Minister (Pierce Brosnan) writing his memoirs that might reveal a secret that would have awful consequences on the rest of the world. His previous ghost writer was found dead so a new one, Ewen McGregor, is called in to finish the novel, but of course he gets caught up in trying to figure out the mystery himself. It's a fantastic thriller with a twist ending that does not insult the viewer. And Tom Wilkinson has a quick cameo which is always welcoming. Frankly he might be one of the top 5 actors working today.
7. SHUTTER ISLAND: Fuck everyone that says the movie was predictable. Yes I have heard from many people that the third act ruined it for them but I didn't see it that way. Scorsese is a master and even though this movie isn't one of the best Scorsese movies he has ever done (it's no higher than 9 and even that might be high) but it shows how he can do any genre. The music choices were brilliant as was the entire mood and feel of the movie to make us feel that we are trapped on this island. The leads were great (rarely are DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo not great) but it is the one and done scenes by Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley that really steal the show.
6. GREEN ZONE: Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass made two spy classics in the Bourne Supremacy and Ultimatum so it's not surprising that their latest collaboration was so good yet criminally underseen. It is an Iraq war movie which most of the public has no desire to see but that doesn't take away the fact that it is a fantastic war movie. The latter half of the movie was shot beautifully and provides action scenes that have not really been seen in movies. It's another movie in which its politics I agree with and that certainly can turn people off but as a visual experience, it should interest everyone...especially those who like just kick-your-ass action movies.
5. TRUE GRIT: Let me start by saying I hated the original 1969 True Grit. John Wayne is the most overrated and boring actor of all time and that movie was no different. So when it was announced that The Coen Brothers were going to remake it I was less than thrilled but said I would see it because rarely do The Coen Brothers make a bad movie. And this is easily the surprise of the year. The movie takes everything that sucked about the original and made it entertaining. Most of that has to do with the casting. Jeff Bridges is a great Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon shows again why he is one of the best. But it's out-of-nowhere newcomer Hailee Steinfeld that stole the show from both veterans in one of the best debut performances I have ever seen. That girl is going to be a star and will hopefully win an Oscar for this performance. Unfortunately the Academy has said Carter Burwell's score is ineligible due to some BS rules which is a disappointment since it was the best music in a movie all year.
4. BLACK SWAN: It's amazing that this movie isn't even the biggest mindfuck of the year (that's still to come). But Darren Aronofsky, the genius behind PI and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM has given us another masterpiece. Not many movies centered around ballet can interest me but this movie certainly did. The last 40 minutes were some of the most emotionally draining scenes I have ever seen in film and I would watch it again in a heartbeat. And for the people I recommended it to, I tried stressing that although the Natalie Portman/Mila Kunis lesbian scene is incredibly hot, it is also tasteful and important to the movie. Overall, Portman should cake walk to the Best Actress Oscar this year (and rightfully make us forget that Sandra Bullock won last year for the THE BLIND SIDE which still is leaving a shitty taste in my mouth)
3. THE TOWN: Black Swan is the better movie but The Town ranks higher because of rewatchability. Ben Affleck's second directed movie is a fantastic heist movie with 2 iconic scenes which will go down in the genre's history. The fact that no one staged a shootout in a baseball stadium before is pretty odd but Affleck pulls it off. Everyone in it is fantastic including Chris Cooper (in another one scene and done performance) and the late Pete Pothleswaite. Heist movies can be hit or miss and most of the time they are terrible or just plain good. But The Town manages to overcome all of the cliches and become a staple in the genre. Hopefully Affleck continues making interesting film like this
2. INCEPTION: The fact that Inception is not #1 just shows how strong that movie is. Frankly, what is not to like about it? It's an insanely intelligent sci-fi/action/adventure/heist movie that makes the viewers follow every detail to put the story together and even then it might not make any sense. Frankly, Christopher Nolan had my loyalty after MEMENTO but now after THE DARK KNIGHT and INCEPTION he is officially the best filmmaker working today. Inception 100% holds up on second and third viewings and yet I still can't say I fully know what happened and whether or not it was a dream all along. Frankly though, I can see this overtime moving into the #1 slot of 2010 but for now it will have to settle at #2.
1. THE SOCIAL NETWORK: The sign of a great movie for me is if I felt it could have gone longer and I wouldn't have cared. After 2 1/2 hrs of The Social Network, I decided I could have watched another 2 hours and would not have been bored once. Frankly, there is not a single flaw in this movie. From the first scene, which harkens back to HIS GIRL FRIDAY from 1940 (the best screwball comedy of that era) to the last scene, it is just a perfect movie experience. Jesse Eisenberg, who has been great and underseen since breaking out in RODGER DODGER almost a decade ago busts down every barrier and gives a legendary performance. Even Justin Timberlake is fantastic here and I'm actually excited to see where his acting career goes. For the people holding out on seeing it because "it's a movie about Facebook" I hope they realize how stupid that reasoning is and how not truthful it is. The movie is about so much more than Facebook. I can only hope that everyone takes the time to watch it and appreciate it.
THE THREE RUNNERS UP
I said before there were 13 movies that can really make up this list so here are those three very briefly.
#11 Cemetery Junction. It is a Ricky Gervais directed coming of age drama set in 1960s England but it's really fucking good. From what I can get, it's like Dazed And Confused just set across the world in a different culture but the same themes are relevant. It also has the best usage of a Led Zeppelin song ever
#12 Animal Kingdom. Movies from Australia I usually find overrated but this one about a crime family with a mother that would do anything to save her sons from prison is a true gem. Ben Mendelsson is the breakout star here with an extremely evil performance. The accents are tough to understand but hopefully that won't stop people
#13 The Fighter. It's not as great as some reviewers have made it out to be but Christian Bale and Amy Adams are absolutely terrific in a very fine boxing movie. Micky Ward's best fights were with the late Arturo Gatti so if you want to watch the real Micky Ward fight then find that trilogy of fights cause it's a marvel what they did and the director made the right choice by not even attempting to film it.
WORST DEVELOPING TREND:
What's with all the good movies being set in Massachusetts? Five of the top 13 movies are set in Massachusetts which makes me kind of sick. We need to stop giving this state credit and we really need to stop letting them make great movies there
MOST OVERRATED:
Every year there is a movie that sneaks into the end of the year discussion which I just don't get. Last year there were more obvious choices (see THE BLIND SIDE and AVATAR as the big culprits). This year you had to dig far to find WINTER'S BONE, a movie that people found "chilling" yet I found "fucking unbearably boring." Don't even bother watching it. It's not even a good bad that its funny. It's just unbearable
WORST YEAR FOR A BIG STAR
Enough with Russell Crowe. Seriously. First he gives us Robin Hood which was 2 hours of an extended yawn including the great "I declare him to be an outlawwwwww" which was laughably bad in the trailers and even worse in the movie (yes I know that wasn't Crowe but it hurts the movie). He then follows it up with the even more asinine The Next Three Days which was so insipid, I spent the entire time wondering why Liam Neeson showed up for a one and done scene paycheck. Nicolas Cage might get the notice for making shitty movies, but I've stopped seeing them. Crowe needs to be put on this list.
SCARIEST SEX SCENE
For those of you who haven't seen SPLICE, please let me apologize for ruining what might be the most insane scene ever in a movie. But Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley are superstar genetic scientists trying to splice a kid from god knows what. Basically the spliced female/animal hybrid starts getting feelings for her father scientist Brody and somehow by the 75 minute mark, they are going at it on a makeshift barnyard laboratory. It's appalling and hysterical all at the same time.
BEST COMEDY
Will Ferrell is an enigma. He can make genius movies like ANCHORMAN and make such huge crap like BLADES OF GLORY and LAND OF THE LOST. But he obviously finds the right connection while working with Adam McKay because THE OTHER GUYS is a hugely funny movie that the jokes I feel can work multiple times. I feel this can be a great quotable movie like Anchorman once more people see it but its one of the better titles in the Will Ferrell category.
BEST QUOTE
Finally, the line of the year goes to the cult hero Danny Trejo with three simple words: "Machete don't text"
Back to Korea stuff next time. For now, enjoy this and have fun bashing my opinions as most of you do anyway.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Yes, It's A New Post
So I haven't written in about two weeks. No specific reason, just haven't had much to say and everyone else was busy with holidays and all that stuff so decided not to bother everyone during the holiday season.
But now that that is over I find the time to be perfectly appropriate to bother you all once again. For starters, Christmas here isn't that big of a thing. The stores put up Christmas decorations and all the stores have the same Christmas songs on repeat (actually, it's really just N'Sync followed by Mariah followed by N'Sync again) but when it comes to the actual holiday the celebration is fairly lax. Stores are open like usual, restaurants were full and packages were delivered so unlike the U.S., the world does not stop because Christmas is happening. A nice change of pace from the usual holiday season that I have been used to for the past 24 years prior.
New Years also does not seem to be a big thing here (well at least in Jinju). Koreans save their New Year celebrations for the Lunar New Year which is in the beginning of February. So the foreigners here basically all just went to a bar and did New Year's how I have always been used to it, just minus the ball in Times Square since that ball dropped at 2pm Saturday which was already New Year's Day here. So two of the biggest days of the year in the U.S. take a back seat over here which is just another thing to add to the long list of major differences between the two places.
This past Wednesday, my boss at the school took the entire staff out for dinner. Like most dinners with your bosses, since the bill is on them you don't feel bad eating as much as you want. But we went to one of these places (I don't know a name so forgive me) where essentially they put down a tray of raw meat and you cook it yourself. But the tray has to be a few pounds heavy.
But now that that is over I find the time to be perfectly appropriate to bother you all once again. For starters, Christmas here isn't that big of a thing. The stores put up Christmas decorations and all the stores have the same Christmas songs on repeat (actually, it's really just N'Sync followed by Mariah followed by N'Sync again) but when it comes to the actual holiday the celebration is fairly lax. Stores are open like usual, restaurants were full and packages were delivered so unlike the U.S., the world does not stop because Christmas is happening. A nice change of pace from the usual holiday season that I have been used to for the past 24 years prior.
New Years also does not seem to be a big thing here (well at least in Jinju). Koreans save their New Year celebrations for the Lunar New Year which is in the beginning of February. So the foreigners here basically all just went to a bar and did New Year's how I have always been used to it, just minus the ball in Times Square since that ball dropped at 2pm Saturday which was already New Year's Day here. So two of the biggest days of the year in the U.S. take a back seat over here which is just another thing to add to the long list of major differences between the two places.
This past Wednesday, my boss at the school took the entire staff out for dinner. Like most dinners with your bosses, since the bill is on them you don't feel bad eating as much as you want. But we went to one of these places (I don't know a name so forgive me) where essentially they put down a tray of raw meat and you cook it yourself. But the tray has to be a few pounds heavy.
The plate is in the back of the giant metal thing blocking it which sucks up all the heat from the makeshift grill in front of us. The table was split up into 3 parts and each table had 2 plates full of this meat so needless to say it was more than enough food.
Now is also a good time to introduce you to the drink of choice for so many people here which is soju.
Soju is like vodka in that it is a clear, odorless, mostly tasteless alcohol that when you have it, at least at first try, tastes like unadulterated trash. Most foreigners I have seen use it as a mix drink, quite similar to vodka again, with a soda or something like that to disguise the taste although some do drink it straight (I have been told by multiple people that you get used to it but even those people seem to make fantastic faces of disgust after a shot of it). At dinner though I was told to try what the locals here call "The Bomb" which is soju mixed into beer. The name is poetic as when my co-worker made me one it wasn't that bad but then my boss made me one which was probably almost a half-glass of soju and then a half of beer and it does not take long to feel the effects of it. If he kept making them I would have felt like the aftermath of Hiroshima.
Some other notes:
- I have no clue if these people read this blog but regardless if they do or not, I have come to the conclusion that I have no clue what Scottish people are saying (and if you are reading this then you know it's fucking true). I know it is English but the actual context of what is being said is an utter mystery.
- Some kids I used to teach (schedule doesn't permit me to teach them anymore) are pretty smart and are also baseball fans. When going over pronunciation of the "ph" words I asked if they knew who won the World Series in 2008 and they said it was the Philadelphia Pillies (half right isn't bad). This then went on to a brief discussion of Chan Ho Park (whom even they know sucked) and Shin-Soo Choo, the outfielder for the Cleveland Indians and Korean hero (he is plastered on a truck that is outside my apt building everyday eating what looks to be ice cream but I can't be sure). They call him Choo-Choo Train here which is a great nickname and the people of Cleveland should start using that if they don't already (he's a free agent at the end of the 2013 season so it will be a while before we casual fans begin to know who he is).
- I have one movie left to see before I can do my obnoxiously long Best of 2010 post I have been planning on boring you all with. So for your sake you should hope it's a while before I get to see The King's Speech and that I'll ultimately scrap the idea but I'll give it another two weeks or so to pop up online
That's about all for now. No clue when the next post will be but I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays and New Years.
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