Wednesday, July 30, 2014

movies yet to see

I have a couple more movies on my to-see list. First is "Guardians of the Galaxy," which arrives in Korea tomorrow, July 31st. It's gotten generally positive reviews on Metacritic, substantiating my initial impression of the film as a fun, wild, inventive, witty ride that evokes "Star Wars" and "The Matrix" without taking itself seriously.

Second is a Korean historical drama called "Myeongnyang," which chronicles the exploits of one of the greatest naval commanders in human history, Admiral Yi Sun-shin. This movie stars rough-looking battleaxe Choi Min-shik in a role he was born to play. I have high expectations for this film, and I want to see it despite the fact that I won't understand most of the dialogue. It'll be enough just to bask in the action.

I'm an admirer of Admiral Yi's; I've read a brief biography of the man, and I esteem him alongside other naval greats like Admiral Nelson (revered for his costly Trafalgar victory). The Battle of Myeongnyang is famous because Admiral Yi had only thirteen ships at his command, and he defeated over three hundred Japanese naval vessels in the nautical equivalent of the Battle of Thermopylae. That's an impressive ass-kicking, and by all rights it ought to make for an impressive movie. I'm looking forward to seeing "Myeongnyang," which is already out.


_

6 comments:

John from Daejeon said...

You might want to wait until you get back to Seoul to watch 'Myeongnyang" as several movie theaters there show Korean films with English subtitles.

Kevin Kim said...

Good point. Thanks. Know which ones?

John from Daejeon said...

No, clue as I don't see flicks in Seoul. That's what Google's for.

However, if you are still looking to make some big bucks without a lot of hard work, the United States is paying some big, big bucks (nearly $90,000) thanks to illegal immigration. As a teacher, and taxpayer, down on the Texas border not so long ago, it really upset me to see the system played so blatantly in the open by illegal immigrants while U.S. students who could also benefit from an additional year or two in high school are forced out when they age out at twenty.

I spit out my orange juice when I read this though, "Foster parents have the ability to collect more than $7,400 per month, considering that they can house six immigrants at any given time. In addition to daily payments, Braiser said that the illegal immigrants are provided with taxpayer subsidized education, health care, transportation, and an "allowance.""

Only in America.

King Baeksu said...

Check out "Blue Ruin" and "Jodorowsky's Dune."

Kevin Kim said...

John,

"That's what Google's for."

Yeah, yeah. I know what Google's for. But I asked you. Anyway...

King Baeksu,

I saw the preview trailer for "Jodorowsky's Dune" and thought it looked fascinating. What a vision of "Dune" that would have been, eh? "Blue Ruin" also looks like an interesting psychodrama.

John from Daejeon said...

If it was Daejeon, I'd have all the info. you need, but all I know of Seoul is how to get to Haddon House Foreign grocery supermarket to track down my Big Red soda, root beer, and Vlasic dill pickles. They even have tons of different deodorants from the U.S. and will deliver goods if you spend more than 180,000 won. Plus, the workers/owners are the most friendly and courteous people you will ever meet.

As for evoking emotions in film, you might want to check out John Williams Western score of John Wayne's "The Cowboys." Whenever I have a bad day in class, re-watching this movie helps me put things in perspective when it comes to not only teaching children but also in setting a good example for them even on bad days. It's a shame more people don't know that Williams scored this great movie, or that he scored the original theme to "Gilligan's Island" which is proof that even geniuses have off days like the rest of us.