Ok, I confess to really liking most Korean movies.  Yes, they tend to be very melodramatic, sacharine sweet, corny, and predictable.  What’s not to like?

My Sassy Girl is an older film that I discovered through a clip posted on the blog On My Way to Korea.  I liked that clip so much I stole it and posted it here.  Commenter Jason saw the clip I posted, liked it as well, and now threatens to post it on his blog.  Ain’t the internet great?

Anyway, that clip whetted my appetite for more and I was pleased to discover the entire movie can be viewed on YouTube in ten minute chunks.  I have now viewed the entire movie and declare it hilarious.  Yeah, it gets a bit sappy in places, but some of the scenes had me laughing out loud.  I don’t think you can understand a culture through movies (I shudder to imagine how people would judge America based on the Hollywood view of things), but at least through film I feel a gain a greater appreciation for this country I call home.

So, I invite and recommend you to enjoy this sweet movie.  I’m even going to make it easy for you by posting links to each clip.  So, pop some corn, relax, take your shoes off, sit a spell, and indulge yourself in the pleasure of watching this fine film.  You’ll be glad you did.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Part 12

Part 13

The final scene

Now, wasn’t that fun?

This is my weekly routine:

I work 8-5 M-F each week, but this is Saturday and I am not inclined to talk about work.  Ok?

Monday night is dart league.

Tuesday I recover from dart league beer drinking.

Wednesday I practice darts for a couple of hours, then head over to Don Valley, my favorite Korean restuarant in Itaewon, for samgyapsal.  Yum!

Thursday I stay home and will usually cook.  This week it was galbi, American style.  That would be Memphis (Corky’s) bar-b-que pork ribs.  Cooked on the grill the way God intended.

Friday is the Dolce Vita Dart tournament.  Always fun.  Last night I managed a second place with my partner COL Dan and had the high out as well.  That was good for W16,000.

Saturday is a wild card.  I do my grocery shopping for the week, surf the net, blog, and play CIV IV.  Saturday night?  Depends on the mood.  I’ll usually take a break from Dolce, and change the pace by visiting Manila bar for some San Miguel on tap.  When I’m feeling bago payo, I’ll hit Don Valley for some bulgogi.  Then depending on my mood level of intoxication and who I’ve encountered out and about, I like to do the norebang thing.  I can’t sing a lick, but that never stops me.  Tonight I will be playing in the Seoul International Dart League mid-season doubles tourney at Bless U Pub.  It starts at 4, so that foretells an early evening.  My capacity for beer drinking generally maxes out at 4 hours or so.  And as everyone knows, darts is just a socially acceptable excuse to drink beer, right? 

Sunday I do whatever I feel like, and don’t do whatever I don’t want to do.  It’s my lazy day (heh, more lazy than normal).  I don’t shave, sometimes cook, usually spend hours on the internet or playing CIV IV (I am bit obsessed with the game).  If I get too bored I’ll venture out to Dolce Vita and chuck some darts.

So, as you can see I like living life on the edge.  It’s a thrill a minute, let me tell you.

I say all of the above as a long winded prelude to my sharing this week’s movies.  As my regular reader(s) know, I recently purchased a giant flat screen TV and blu-ray DVD player.  And signed up for a subscription to Netflix. 

The way Netflix works for those that don’t know is you pay a monthly fee and have movies mailed to your home address.  This works for me because I have an APO (Army post office) address, which is serviced by the good ol’ U.S. Mail.  Given the turnaround time, I can usually watch 3 movies a week through Netflix.  I tend to watch movies on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights.  I supplement Netflix by buying movies on the street in Itaewon.  And yes, I am sure these are legitmate because they have the F.B.I. warning on them, and I know Korea would not tolerate anything as illicit as bootlegging DVDs.  That is wrong and tantamount to stealing afterall.  Just say NO!  Alright then, now that we are clear on that, here’s what I watched this week (no spoilers):

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  A very interesting film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.  Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Which I haven’t read.  The film was technically well made, and the special effects were impressive.  I enjoyed the story because it was different and thought provoking.  The whole concept of living your life is reverse chronology is quite mind bending.  Pitt turned in a fine performance as Mr. Button.  My only real complaint is the movie is a tad long at 3 hours, but for the most part I was sufficiently entertained to make the time investment worthwhile.  Using the LTG unpatented rating scale (1=sucks, 5=excellent) I give this flick a solid 4.

Valkyrie.  This film tells the true story (Wikipedia says it was for the most part historically accurate) of German Col Von Stauffenberg’s failed attempt to assianate Hitler in 1944.  Tom Cruise plays Stauffenberg, and although I’m no fan of Cruise, he did a nice job in this movie.  I’m a bit of a history buff (which is to say I have an interest in history, but I don’t really know sh*t about it), and the WWII genre is something that always catches my interest.  I didn’t have great expectations, but I enjoyed the Dickens out of this movie (sorry, I’m a slave to puns).  The what ifs of history are always intriguing, and the Valkyrie plotters came surprising close to pulling this coup off.  Of course, Hitler was dead in 9 months anyway, but perhaps an early end to the war would have changed the world as we know it today.  Or maybe not.  Anyway, if you have any interest in one of the lesser known events of WWII, I think you will find this movie satisfying.  I give it a hearty 3.

Yes Man.  Typical Jim Carrey fare.  A bit of a farce, but still mildly entertaining.  I like Jim Carrey in his more serious dramatic performances (i.e. e.g. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and this movie was full of the face gags and physical comedy for which Carrey is more well-known.  There were a few laughs along the way, but in the end I guess I was feeling like I could have better spent those 2 hours (like playing CIV IV).  I’ll be charitable and give it a rating of 2.

Ok friends, that’s this weeks view from the couch.  Keep on Truckin’!

UPDATE:  Corrected the i.e. to the proper e.g. as pointed out by a commenter.  I think I use to know the difference in some forgotten past, and I appreciate the reminder.   I also know my spelling is atrocious.  I have been ruined by a combination of Bill Gates’ squiggly underlines (unavailable here) and my utter laziness when it comes to actually looking a word up…

I mentioned that I’ve been spending less time out and about and more time at home watching movies in my home theatre, such as it is.  With my Netflix subscription I’ve been taking the opportunity to watch some Korean films I’ve heard tell about.  Here’s three I recently viewed and recommend:

Shiri–a story about a female North Korean assasin living undercover in Seoul and wreaking a good deal of havoc.  A tad melodramatic, but then, that’s what makes a Korean movie Korean.  I also found it a tad sympathetic to the North Koreans.  I mean, you can’t blame the ROK for the f’d up situation in the North.  Still, quite entertaining although it wasn’t hard to guess the plot twist at the end.

Joint Security Area–A very interesting film.  I particularly enjoyed that it took place almost entirely at Panmunjon and brought back nice memories of my several visits to the DMZ.  It certainly appeared that it was filmed on location, but how they got permission to do so is something I’m quite curious about.  I think as an American I don’t fully appreciate the “deep national and cultural shame” Koreans feel about their divided country.  In fact, “Shiri” had almost the same exact quote regarding the shame and hurt that only reunification will heal.  Again, I thought the film was just a bit too easy on the NORKs, but here it was on a soldier to soldier basis and the point was well taken that Koreans are brothers divided only by politics.  Actually it was a pretty depressing movie in many ways, but still worth the view.  I actually dreamed about the DMZ last night after watching this.

Lady Vengence–This is sort of a “Kill Bill” lite type movie.  Apparently the third part of a trilogy, but even having not seen the first two it was still very watchable.  Not much more I can say about it without spoilers.  Again nothing great or inspirational here, but good entertainment.

As I have just proven, I’m not much of a movie reviewer.  But I need to post on subject other than darts occasionally, right?  Besides, I am fantasizing that the post title will generate lots of hits on Google from film gurus who will be so taken with my humble little blog that they become regular readers.

Speaking of which, I’m back up to almost 25 hits a day here.  Kamsamnida!

My Canadian dart league teammates and blog buddy Jen are not at all like this.  Truly.

Still, you gotta laugh.