Some Movies and Series

Since being back in Korea (just over a month now), I've watched some nice films and series.

The Fighter (2010)

A film with absolutely excellent acting. You need not be a fan of boxing to enjoy this based-on-true-events drama, starring Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale. I'm not really familiar with director David O. Russell's other work, except for the war drama Three Kings (1999) also starring Wahlberg. The Fighter has some of the best performances you'll see in a long time. Don't miss it.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

It is seldom that I watch a romantic film that affects me as this action-romance did. The Adjustment Bureau stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt and their characters have to fight fate and providence to ensure their love for each other. The film touched me on two levels. Firstly, this is the type of story I wish I had written because it is a topic -- "free will" -- that I am so passionate about. It's a great story that considers a big philosophical / theological issue. (Read Greg Boyd's discussion of the issue in this film here.) Secondly, I completely fell in love with Emily Blunt's character. This has happened only once before where I could feel myself falling in love with leading actress in a film. The other time was with Claire Forlani in Boys and Girls (2000). Judging from these two characters, I can clearly see a pattern to what personality type would make me fall head-over-heels in love.

Black Swan (2010)

Okay, technically I saw this while still in South Africa, but I thought it deserves mentioning as it is one of the best cinematographically appealing films I have seen in a very long time. A psychological drama that will definitely be enjoyed by any one that enjoys this genre, and anyone with a love for fine cinema. Director Darren Aronofsky also directed two of my other favourite films: Requiem for a Dream (2000) and The Wrestler (2008). Natalie Portman does an excellent job.

Tangled (2010)

I saw this on the plane on my way back to Korea. Tangled is Disney's version of the Rapunzel fairy tale. Not the best Disney film ever, but not bad.

The Way Back (2010)

The Way Back is very loosely based on possible events. This is very unfortunate, for if it was firmly based on actual events it would have been one of the most inspiring films I have ever seen. Peter Weir, the director, is known for such films as Dead Poet's Society (1989), Green Card (1990), and The Truman Show (1998).

I Am Number Four (2010)

I heard it compared to the Twilight series, but this is a ridiculous comparison. I Am Number Four does not piggyback on a vampire or other Gothic premise (and perverts the whole genre in the process as the Twilight series does). Instead it is a sci-fi in the likes of X-Men or Superman. Yes, the chief audience probably still teenagers; nevertheless, I found it to be a quite enjoyable film with enough action and well crafted special effects to make up for the teen-romance and new-kid-in-school stereotypes.

Hua Mulan (2009)

I watched this Chinese war drama on DVD in two sittings last night and the night before. It is the story of Mulan, the woman who pretended to be a man so that she could enlist in the army in the place of her ailing father, and then continues to become one of China's legendary warriors. Generally a good story.

Chuno (aka The Slave Hunter) (2010)

I started watching this Korean series set in the Joseon Dynasty (I think) about the slave trade and star-crossed lovers last year, but only finished it recently. Apart from its (stereo-) typical overflow of "han", the Korean emotion of despair, I enjoyed Chuno for it's moments of martial art scenes and interesting cultural exposure of the time. Unfortunately, like most Korean action-dramas, the "han" gets too much for me. There is not a single episode in which a number of characters are not crying. It becomes to irritating to bear at times.

The Adventures of Merlin -- Season Three

BBC's Merlin series is getting better with each season. There is something quirky about the series, in an almost Doctor Who silliness. Season three ended quite suspenseful. I'm rather looking forward to season four.

Consider This

The first season of my brother's youth related unscripted talk show is nearly finished. He sent me the links to the following three segments of their pilot episode. The show will be aired on the Hope Channel and on other interested networks. My brother acted as director / producer for the show; he is also the chief post-production editor.







At the beginning of the year while they filmed the show I was invited to sit in on one of the discussion panels, discussing Christianity versus Secularism.

Recently Watched Series

With suddenly so much time on my hands, I’ve recently finished watching three series.

Merlin (Season 2)

The story of the “early years” of Merlin and Arthur continues. This season really increased in suspense towards the end.Nice fantasy, but I did get frustrated with the low level of intelligence it requires.

Doctor Who (Series 5 – 2010)

This season features the eleventh Doctor played by the amiable Matt Smith. From the very first episode the audience is made aware of cracks in the universe and how it is all related to a little red-headed Scottish lass named Amy Pond – the first crack is seen in her bedroom.

An excellent Doctor Who season, with lots of continued suspense and typical Doctor Who humour.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

This is an animated series in three seasons (or "Three Books") about a young monk that finds out that he is the Avatar who is destined to save the world from the ferocious Fire Lord. However, before he can do so, he firsts need to master the four elements and escape being captures by an exiled prince. The series is heavily influenced by Oriental concepts, with interesting use of Chinese martial arts which include Tai Chi, Hung Gar, Northern Shaolin Kung Fu, and Ba Gua. The characters are endearing. The plot style is more typical of Asian anime, however the self-mockery more resembles Western cartoons. I really enjoyed this anime series and was quite disappointed when it came to a finish after only three seasons.

My Brother's Work

This is another open my younger brother made for a 13-part series that will be featuring on a Christian television channel. I think he mentioned that it will start showing in October. The title of the show, "The Everlasting Gospel," comes from Revelation 14:6: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people..."

50/50 Is Back in April

One of the great tragedies of the South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) was when they discontinued “50/50”, a program focused on environmental issues. “50/50” had been the longest running program (over 25 years!) of its kind in the world, up until it was taken off the air in 2007. My brother informed me just now of the good news that “50/50” will resume again. Read more about their comeback at BizCommunity and "50/50"'s website. We can only hope that "50/50" will live up to the standards it had set in the past.

Chocolate Sets & Songs

Image from Oprah.Com

Oprah’s studio set for the show yesterday (22 February) was made of chocolate. I didn’t see the show, but I wonder if the audience got to chow down on it afterwards – or take pieces of it home as a souvenir? Or is the Queen of Talk Shows going to have it all for herself? The chocolate set was made as part of the “That’s Incredible!” show that featured the tallest girl alive, the tallest dog, the fastest fiddle player, and other “incredibles”.

While on the topic of chocolate, below are two chocolate songs:





My favourite chocolate is dark chocolate.

North Korean TV Ads Take a Step in the Wrong Direction

Apparently, this North Korean beer TV-ad got the "TV Boss Sacked," because it is too capitalistic. While the beer ads seemed to have been working (as demand for beer increased during the time of the airing), Dictator-President Kim Jong-il did not approve.

How do you like those special effects?



Cheers to "North East Asia Matters: The Korean Peninsula," who blogged on this earlier.

Weird French Advertising

I'm sorry, but French advertising just doesn't make sense. I'm assuming these are ads for dairy and fruit juice, respectively; but the synaptic leaps has me scratching my head in wonder: Skeleton babies worshipping a cow, and wild animals in some strange orgy?! Those French -- they're weird?!

Americans: 8 Hours of TV per Day

A week ago I posted about my movie watching habits, and guessed that the typical person watch about 10+ hours of television per week. My guess, at least as far as the USA goes, was much too conservative. According to a CNN report I just watched, the typical American watch 8 hours of combined television per day. That is 57 hours of television per week! I wonder how South Africans would compare?

So can we assume that the typical American is unhappy? Well according to this article, sent to me buy a friend, people that watch less TV are happier than people that watch more TV.

The photo is a Creative Commons image by Aaron Escobar - Flickr.

Where do I get the time to watch so many movies?

The answer is easy. I don't watch TV. In fact, I don't own a TV.

So while most people spend hours watching soap operas and the like, I'm much more stingy on the visual media I consume. I very specifically search for movies I want to see. I don't just watch any movie, and I don't invest time in just any TV-series. For instance, I recently started to watch the first season of Rome, but after it turned into nothing more than a sexed up soap opera I quit watching it. A slow storyline interspersed with soft porn is not enough to have me, even with my perverted sensibilities, invest that many hours in it.

Also, it just seems like I'm watching an awful lot of movies. I don't really; usually one movie a week (i.e. approximately 2 hours). Compare that to the amount of hours most people spend a week watching TV (approximately 10+ hours)!

The next movie I plan to see is a Korean animation, Aachi & Ssipak (2006), and since I have a cold and won't be going to Hapkido and Taekwon-Do training tonight I might even watch it tonight.

Björk gesels oor TVs en jokkende digters

Björk sê jy moenie dat digters vir jou jok nie, en sy weet van sulke dinge. Sy is net so aangrypend, sommer so, as wanneer sy sing. Sy inspireer my.