Movie Reviews: Some Asian Movies

Below are some Asian movies I've watched over the last couple of months.

Kuri-Obi (2007)

Kuro-Obi (English Title: “Black Belt”) is a great martial art movie about Karate. In fact, it is one of the greatest martial art movies I’ve seen, period. It potently reflects the martial art dilemma: a martial artist trains for years, with the intention of never using his skill. This is so contrary to any other kind of skill. We practise the piano, so that we can play do a public recital. We practise painting so that our painting can be hung up in a gallery for people to view. But true martial artists train how to kill; however, the highest goal is not to kill. Kuro-Obi and The Legend of Ip-Man has something in common, although the martial arts (Karate and Wing-Chun) depicted are stylistically very different. The commonality is in theme -- when is it to appropriate to use ones martial art skill? Furthermore, both movies have militant Japan during the turn of the previous century as backdrop.

Kuro-Obi also clearly depicts other values of Karate, for instance that only one technique ought to be enough. Although it has a somewhat stereotypical martial art storyline, it is well executed, with beautiful cinematography that does not rely on Hollywood special effects, nor acrobatic choreography so typical of the Chinese / Hong Kong influenced martial art films. The power of this movie lies in its simplicity.

I definitely encourage any martial artist to see Kuro-Obi.



Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)

Blood: The Last Vampire is an anime film done in the realistic style of the great Ghost in the Machine (it is in fact by the same animators). The film tells the tale of a vampire girl that works for a cohort government agency that hunts demons. A good, albeit too short film (just under 50 minutes). A good film to see for anime fans.

Apparently a non-anime, full length movie version came out earlier this year. In fact, it showed in South Korea during June, but since I hadn’t seen the anime by that time yet, I assumed that the posters I saw was for a typical horror movie, which are so common during Korean summers. I’m not into horrors that much, but I am disappointed at not having seen Blood – the movie. I’ll have to find it on DVD now.



Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid (2005)

The last Japanese movie on this list is also anime, but is actually not a movie – rather a TV series. Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid (2005) continues on Full Metal Panic (2000) and the lives of Sousuke Sagara (the boy soldier) assigned to protect Kaname Chidori, a feisty girl with special technological insights that should not fall into evil hands. While I enjoyed the series, it did not really have me hooked, and is not necessarily something I’ll recommend watching.

IMDb suggest that a movie version is coming out in 2011.

Full Metal Panic is not to be confused with Full Metal Alchemist which is a anime series I definitely recommend.



Silmido (2003)

Moving onto Korean films. Silmido (실미도) is loosely based on true events during the 1970s. Apparently it was the first film to attract more than 10 million views at the Korean box office. The name "Silmido" is in fact the name of a small island off the North Western coast of South Korea and merely 50 km from the North Korean border. Silmido is a harrowing tale of convicts turned commandos in order to go and assassinate North Korean dictator Kim Il Song. The film reflects on the common practise of dehumanization in the military, and considering human lives as disposable commodities.

A good, enraging, rather violent and bloody, and typically sad film.



Gangster High (2006)

Ganster High (폭력써클), is a film about school violence, which is actually quite common according to some Koreans I’ve spoken too. It tells the story of a group of high school boys whose soccer club ("The Tigers") is forced to become a fighting gang in order to protect themselves against the highschool delinquents. If you like violent movies, then watch this. If not, give it a skip. Another typically sad Korean movie, but quite good.



The Art of Fighting (2009)

The Art of Fighting (싸움의 기술), also about school violence, is about a bullied boy that pleads with an old street fighter to teach him how to fight. The movie debunks many of the typical martial art stereotypes, and shows street fights for what they really are – dirty and brutal. A good movie, well worth seeing. And, as is customary of a Korean film, sad. (Read a full review here.)



Haeundae (2009)

"Haeundae" (해운대) is the name of a famous beach in Busan, on the South Eastern Coast of Korea. The movie is about a number of people and how their lives are dramatically changed by the sea. There is firstly the major plot of a “mega tsunami” that hits Busan, but also a subplot of a death on a fishing boat that happened years before. What I like about the great Korean disaster/action movies like Haeundae and The Host, is that Korean film defies Hollywood’s action hero. The great action hero so typical of Hollywood is awkwardly absent, leaving one with common people that is much easier to associate with. Although Haeundae’s special effects and computer graphics are at times dodgy, the tsunami is mostly believable.

I found myself cringing on numerous occasions – as I have a peculiar fear of tsunamis. I call it peculiar because I didn’t grow up close to the sea, but have been afraid of tsunamis since I was a child. So this movie forced me to confront my own fear a bit.

Haeundae is currently (July '09) showing in Korea with English subtitles at the CGV cinemas in Myeongdong and Gangnam.

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HanCinema is a nice website to search for information on Korean movies. I'm also a fan of Koreanfilm.Org, and often search Koreanfilm for good Korean movies, before I decide to watch them or not.

Pink: My Favourite Pop Diva

(Image Source)

I have an extensive music collection covering a vast array of genres, ranging from classical and opera to rock and blues, from British and American to African and Asian, from jazz and cabaret to . . . However, I must admit there are some genres I just do not have a taste for – Boeremusiek, for example. And also, generally, I do not like pop music.

During my trip to South Africa at the beginning of this year I got to hear Pink's Funhouse (2008) album on the airplane. I liked it so much that I later got the album. It's been nearly six months since I heard it the first time and it is still growing on me. Although I listen to various albums all the time, it is quite probably that Funhouse is the album I've returned to the most over the last couple of months. I'm thinking it is the nice blend of funky songs with exquisite, heartfelt ballads. The album was mostly inspired by Pink's separation from her husband; her honest emotions seem to seep through these songs. (I read somewhere that they are trying to work things out again, which would be nice).

My favourite ballads from this album are "I Don't Believe You", "Please Don't Leave Me", "Crystal Ball", and "Glitter in the Air".

Ninja Assassin Trailer

Here is the first trailer for Ninja Assassin, the movie staring the Korean actor and singer Rain. I can't wait for it; unfortunately it is only premièring in Korea in November! I'm not expecting the greatest story, but I am very much looking forward to seeing some really cool martial arts.

Internet for the Masses

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My younger brother has been keeping me up to date with Seacom, the new high capacity broadband cable that will revolutionise the Internet for Africa, and South Africa in particular. A couple of years back I lived in Mtunzini, a small coastal town of the East Coast of South Africa. Apparently Mtunzini's beach is the most geographically stable beach on the East Coast and is the perfect spot to port the massive broadband cable linking South Africa with Europe. And after years in the making, the cable stretching down the East African coast line is complete, and the Seacom-system went live yesterday.

This means that South Africa will, at last, have "high capacity bandwith". The implication is much faster, and much cheaper Internet. This is great news for South Africa's technological development. We have the skills; now we'll have the means.

Solar Eclipse Over Asia

The YouTube-video below shows the solar eclipse that occurred yesterday over Asia. It happened in the late morning. I missed it, however, as I was still asleep at that time since I only went to bed after 5 AM.

Book Review: The Old Man and the Sea

(Image from Life)

Okay, this is not really a book review, but it is about a book. Or is it about me? Probably more of the latter than the former, but that's how it goes when you substitute keeping a diary for keeping a blog.

After two or three days of feeling miserable for reasons some might find ridiculous meditations (why worry about things you have no control over?), I came home tonight and put myself to bed with a book -- Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. I haven’t read it before, but knew about the bleak ending. What a fitting book to read, I was thinking earlier today when I went to a bookshop to order for another book, but also in search of this one. A book with a bleak ending to match my current state of cheerlessness. There might be a lesson to learn from it, I thought, and maybe gain some hope in a hopeless world. And if no hope is to gained, at least I had the fellowship of another suicidal writer. (No, I have not been contemplating suicide; however, I was still awake at 5 AM the previous morning contemplating the purpose of life -- not the meaning of life; I think I've worked that one out already.)

I read it. Learned more than one lesson. And although the ending is as I knew it would be, I gained some hope.

My view of the world is not less miserable after reading The Old Man and the Sea; but I did become a little more convinced that the battles, the lonesome battles, the personal battles, even the losing battles, are worth fighting.

Louis Vuitton's Tambour Mysterieuse

Unlike my neighbour who calls himself "brand loyal", and only buys brand name products, I'm not one for brand names. I either like something, or I don't like it, and in fact would usually not buy something, specifically because it is a brand name product; it makes me feel predefined and therefore I often avoid them. Don't get me wrong; it is not that I don't like fashion; I do. It is just that I hate to be defined, or rather, confined, by it.

(Image Source)

I must admit, however, that Louis Vuitton's new Tambour Mysterieuse line of watches are beautiful pieces and I wouldn't mind owning one. That was before I saw the price. I don't consider myself stingy, although I am frugal. Apart from being frugal, I consider myself also quite pragmatic, which means that paying $260 000 for a watch is anything but practical. In Korea I can buy 30 000 fairly decent watches for the same price. With $260 000 one can probably feed a small African village for a number of years.

Sorry, Louis Vuitton. A very nice watch, but not something anybody with a consciounce, will buy.

Some Random Notes on South Africa and Korea

South Africa

The sad state of the South African Broadcasting Company is hardly worth talking about. But what did get me upset is that the award winning program 50/50, the longest running program of its kind in the world, is off-air and who knows when it will be back.

On the political front some people foresee protests to peak because of poor municipal services, and apparently the fledgling party COPE, is experiencing extreme growing pains.

On a lighter South African note, it was Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday last week and it looks like his birthday is something to be remembered as a national institution. On “Mandela Day” people do good deeds in memory of Madiba’s legacy. At first I thought this only to be a local (South African) thing, but my brother in Sweden informed me that they are celebrating Mandela Day over there as well.

As for South African entertainment, Thandiswa Mazwai’s new album is out and I cannot wait to get hold of it.

Korea

On the Korean front, South Korea has accepted a lawsuit by North Korean siblings suing their South Korean family for part of an inheritance. This is an interesting case, because the South Korean constitution does not discriminate against North Koreans. In other words, North Koreans can get automatic citizenship and therefore South Korean laws apply.

Also in the news is that North Korea’s tantrums paid off – “The United States and its negotiating partners are preparing a ‘comprehensive package’ of incentives to encourage North Korea to scrap its nuclear weapons…” [Read more...] Seems like the spoiled kid is going to get his way again.

Money Concerns

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Did bankrupt America steel my money?

About ten days ago I went to my local exchange bank in Korea and sent a good chunk of money to my bank in South Africa. A money transfer works something like this: First, I need to convert my Korean currency (Won) into US Dollars. (In effect, I have to buy US$ and, of course, lose some money in the process.) Then I transfer these dollars to my South African bank, where it's converted into South African Rand (and of course I lose some on this transaction as well). My great concern is the in-between process. Before the money is transferred from Korea to South Africa, the wiring first goes through America. (I don't know why; that's just how it works.) Now with the American economy in the state that it's in, who knows what happens to the money while it's there? The whole process usually takes around three working days. It has been nearly ten days since I transferred the money, and it's still not showing in my South African bank account. I'm starting to get anxious now. I'll wait till next week and if by then it is not yet deposited I'm going to see my bank, or phone Obama and tell him that my money is not part of his bail-out budget.

Strange Korean Facts

James Turnbull posted an excellent post at The Grand Narrative on Korean gender/sexuality, censorship and media, politics and economy, and fashion.

Some (shocking) points include:

• Consensual sex with a 13 year old is legal!
• Around 19% of female entertainers are forced to have sex.
• Men still get paid substantially more than women.
• Adultery is illegal, but swinging is not.
• The actress Choi Jinsil was sued by the company she modelled for because she revealed that her husband physical abused her. Apparently it tarnishes the company's image.
  

Just to show, I keep on learning new things about Korea all the time.

Vaal Triangle: Bad Dreams; Bad Design; Bad Recollections

I don’t like to say crap (or crappy). I used to, but then it dawned on me that it has the same meaning as shit and shitty, which are words I never use. However, looking at this VCR (Vaal Community Radio)’s website, “this is a terribly crappy design” is the first thing that came to mind. The font disappears against the tiled picture of a microphone and set of earphones. Most of the text on the website is illegible. It looks like something out of 1996 during the dawn of the Internet. Undoubtedly one of the worst websites I have seen in ages; reminiscent of an awful MySpace-page. It is somewhat peculiar as their posters are actually very well designed.

Why did I visit it in the first place? Well, I had an odd dream that the Vaal Triangle is ablaze – a raging fire consuming it. I have a confession to make. Yes it is true. I grew up in the Vaal Triangle. Even though I have no intention of returning to the Vaal Triangle to settle down one day, I do have some family and friends in the region, hence my concern of an inferno raging there. I’m not too superstitious about dreams, but had to quench my subconscious. So, I first went online to a South African news site to see if there are any fires running amok in South Africa, but couldn’t find any reports to indicate so. Then I thought, I’d visit the Vaal’s local radio station’s website – maybe they’d cover such a news story. And this is how I got the graphic designer in me exposed to the design-puke splattered over my screen. I almost feel like designing them a new front page, just so that the (online) world can be a better place.

Good design, now more accessible and affordable than ever, also offers us a chance to bring pleasure, meaning, and beauty to our lives. But most important, cultivating a design sensibility can make our small planet a better place for all. –– Daniel H. Pink

Back to the dream… What could it mean? What is my subconscious revealing? Do I subconsciously want the Vaal Triangle destroyed, since it is a container for so much of my childhood pains? And let’s, for a moment, think of this dream as a premonition of some sort. My guess is that the fire would symbolise violence. The Vaal Triangle has a history of political violence; think, for instance, of the Sharpeville massacre and the 1984-85 riots. While I missed the former (I wasn’t born yet), I did experience the latter, and witnessed all kinds of dreadful violence including hackings and necklacing, all the way into the 90s.

I guess I need to phone my family and hear how it's going. And I thought that I'm not superstitious about dreams...

Vain Loss

Something bad happened to me a moment ago.

I found a book I’ve been looking for for a while now and bought it with little hesitation even though it cost around 72US$ (that is around R600!). (It's cheaper on Amazon, but would have cost my around the same shipping included.) The book is Marc Tedeschi’s Taekwondo: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique. I already have Tedeschi’s Hapkido: Traditions, Philosophy, Technique, which is just about the best book on the subject, so I was very keen to get his Taekwon-Do edition and add it to my martial art library.

Getting of the subway train, as the doors closed behind me, the damning realization of supreme idiocy spilled over me like red wine over a white shirt during a first date. I forgot the book on the train, on the overhead ledge above my seat. Immediately I ran to the station office and asked them to call the next station, which they did, but they couldn’t find my book. If I knew it would remedy the problem I would slap myself. It won’t, but I am beaten up by the mere thought of my negligence. It is not that I’m terrible broken hearted about the book, I haven’t had it long enough to be sentimental about it; it is replaceable. I am, however, distraught over losing R600. As we say in South Africa, that kind of money is not loose change.

I gave them my phone number, my email address and a thorough description of the book, still in bubble wrap, in a paper bag with “What the Book?” printed on it. I can only hope that I get it back . . . such things actually do happen in Korea.

Recently in the Korean News

(Source: TimesOnline)

Apparently North Korean hackers attacked American websites in South Korea recently. (In 2003 Wired did an interesting article on "North Korea's Hacker School", worth reading.) I have to wonder if it really is North Korean hackers, and not just anti-American South Korean computer geeks taking a break from playing Starcraft, which has become something of a national sport. (Btw, if you are planning to learn Starcraft, remember to learn it from an authentic Korean.)

Also in recent news is that North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, according to South Korea’s YTN Television. Again, after so many unsubstantiated news reports about foreigners, I have to wonder if the report can be trusted. (I've started to follow the Korean Media Watch-blog which points out irregularities and bias in the Korean media.)

(Source)

On the pop-front, Rain has gained weight, according to PopSeoul. I'm guessing that he slacked a bit after his horrific training schedule for Ninja Assassin (cant wait to see it!), and all that muscle is now turning into blubber. After all, he did say "After this film, I [will] never workout..." It still doesn't keep him from doing a Michael Jackson and grabbing his crotch during last weekend's Mud Festival concert. The late King of Pop was Rain's idol.

Speaking of rain, it has been raining on and off over the last couple of days. The Weather Channel is predicting showers and thunderstorms for Seoul for most of the week. (See Seoul's weather here.)

Afrikaans op haar be#@%$te!

Perongeluk struikel ek oor hierdie nuwe Afrikaanse treffer. Weereens is dit bevestig... die Afrikanerkultuur het my ... uhm ... ontgroei. As my ma nog gelewe het sou ek na deuse 'n ernstige gesprek met haar moes gaan hê om te verduidelik dat ek dink nie ek kan meer deel wees van my moederskultuur nie. Dis nie haar fout nie, dis ek. Ek hou nie van pap en vleis nie; en dink ek is so gebore.

As jy braaf genoeg is, indien jy die taaivel van 'n mielieboer het, mits jy die sterk psigiese weerstand van 'n rugbyspeler het, luister na Jakaranda 94.2 se "Pap en Vleis" hieronder. Wees gewaarsku, dit mag jou lewe verander.

I want this T-shirt

(If I could find this T-shirt in Korea,) I'd definitely buy it. I seldom like clothes with prints on them, since I do not like to be [pre-]defined, but Threadless do seem to have an interesting selection of witty T-shirts.