Korean Movie Review: "Babo" (2008)

"Babo" (2008)
Comedy/Drama
6.5/10

My main problem with this movie is that it just seemed to try too hard to be cute. However, despite that, it is quite a nice warm feel-good movie so if you dont have anything better i would reccomend watching it.

Ill be glad when my damn exams and deadlines are through and i can start seriously trying to get to 100 :D

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
   
5. Humming 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. Sad Movie 8.5/10
8. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
9. Memories Of Murder 8/10
   
10. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
11. Antique 8/10
12. A Bittersweet Life 8/10
    
13. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
    
14. The Chaser 8/10
15. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
16. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring
    
17. Mother 7.5/10
    
18. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
19. Almost Love 7.5/10
20. Daisy 7.5/10
21. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
22. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
23. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
24. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
25. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
    
26. Ride Away 7.5/10
27. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
28. Sympathy For Mr Vengeance 7/10
    
29. Thirst 7/10
30. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
31. All For Love 7/10
32. Breathless 7/10
33. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
34. Ghost House 7/10
    
35. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
36. He Was Cool 7/10
37. Hot For Teacher 7/10
    
38. Joint Security Area 7/10
39. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
40. Maundy Thursday 7/10
41. My Love 7/10
42. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
43. Someone Special 7/10
44. The Classic 7/10
45. Babo 6.5/10
    
46. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
47. Break Out 6.5/10
48. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
    
49. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
50. Holiday 6.5/10
51. Ing 6.5/10
52. More Than Blue 6.5/10
53. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
54. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
55. Bad Guy 6/10
    
56. Beautiful 6/10
    
57. Big Bang 6/10
    
58. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
59. My Scary Girl 6/10
60. The Host 6/10
    
61. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
62. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
63. April Snow 5/10
64. Death Bell 5/10
    
65. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
    
66. My Girl & I 4/10

New Iron Man Armour Unveiled......

....meh

The multiple lights are "kinda"cool and i understand the argument that the armour is more streamlined (like a sports car would be) but i prefer Iron Man armours that give him a robot-like appearance.

Comic Book Hiatus.....Over

Recently, i signed up to Marvels digital comics service ($50 for a year)..............................

I cant stay away forever. The characters and stories are just something i cant give up on and often were a source of inspiration for my drawings. Today, Marvel comics are just too expensive and take up too much space. As a student, i dont have time to deal with storing and buying comic books. What i DO have time for, however, is to leisurely read things at my own pace from a vast library of back issues which is why i decided to pay for the Digital comics service.

Pros:

-The digital comics reader is easy to use
-Absolute bargain when you consider how much reading material i now have at my disposal
-Constantly being updated

Cons:

-Recently released comic books are not put into the digital comics service until a later date (to avoid a drop in sales) - this means its not gonna be possible to keep up to date with current events.

While i am VERY interested to read the new major event "Siege" i am not at all interested to go back and read the atrocities that were the" Skrull Invasion" & "World War Hulk". These were actually part of the reason why i quit reading Marvel comics. I hated what they did with Hulk comics after he came back from space (Planet Hulk) and even more so, i hated the direction they were heading in (Skrull invasion). Some of the best titles around that time were starting to sour too like Moon Knight, Ghost Rider, Punisher MAX and Ultimates.

Sure, i could download comic books illegally and just read them that way which saves money and would enable me to keep up with current events. Unfortunately though, torrents dont work on my ISP and for the price they are offering, i think its very reasonable.

NTT are bitches

Seriously, this is the second time now that my internet just randomly cut out during a weekend. I didnt even bother to call them this time, i have too many things to do but magically the connection came back. Two of my friends that live here also got cut off over the weekend.

A Note to those people coming to YNU in Sep 2010:

DONT sign up with PLALA, they DONT ALLOW TORRENTS!
Most people here signed up with SONET and can use torrents no problem so sign up with them instead

Korea: Hallyu World Project

From KBS:

A project to build a large-scale Korean pop culture entertainment facility in the Seoul suburb area of Ilsan is in full swing.

The Hallyu World project pursued by Gyeonggi Province will cost a total of six trillion won, or five-point-three billion U.S. dollars, in public and private investment.

Divided into three sections, Hallyu World is set for completion in 2014.

Builders say the basic groundwork for the site will be finished this year.

Over 100 billion won will go into the project’s infrastructure alone, including waterworks and electricity. Fifty-six percent of the construction has been completed thus far.

The Daemyung Group will also begin building a 660-room hotel on the site in June.

Korean Movie Review: Sympathy For Mr Vengeance (2002)

"Sympathy For Mr Vengeance" (2002)
Crime/Drama/Thriller
7/10

Loved this movie despite the lack of great dialogue (for kind, obvious reasons). Kang Ho-Song put in another solid performance and the ending was brilliant.

This movie showed me that i havent quite hit the bottom of the barrel yet. Surprised i missed this one out actually to be honest. I would really like to get this list to 100 but i think even thats gonna take some time and it means finding 35 more Korean movies that are all decent enough to sit through.

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
   
5. Humming 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. Sad Movie 8.5/10
8. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
9. Memories Of Murder 8/10
   
10. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
11. Antique 8/10
12. A Bittersweet Life 8/10
    
13. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
    
14. The Chaser 8/10
15. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
16. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring
    
17. Mother 7.5/10
    
18. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
19. Almost Love 7.5/10
20. Daisy 7.5/10
21. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
22. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
23. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
24. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
25. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
    
26. Ride Away 7.5/10
27. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
28. Sympathy For Mr Vengeance 7/10
    
29. Thirst 7/10
30. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
31. All For Love 7/10
32. Breathless 7/10
33. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
34. Ghost House 7/10
    
35. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
36. He Was Cool 7/10
37. Hot For Teacher 7/10
    
38. Joint Security Area 7/10
39. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
40. Maundy Thursday 7/10
41. My Love 7/10
42. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
43. Someone Special 7/10
44. The Classic 7/10
45. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
46. Break Out 6.5/10
47. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
    
48. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
49. Holiday 6.5/10
50. Ing 6.5/10
51. More Than Blue 6.5/10
52. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
53. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
54. Bad Guy 6/10
    
55. Beautiful 6/10
    
56. Big Bang 6/10
    
57. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
58. My Scary Girl 6/10
59. The Host 6/10
    
60. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
61. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
62. April Snow 5/10
63. Death Bell 5/10
    
64. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
    
65. My Girl & I 4/10

Korean Movie Review Time!!! Bad Guy (2001) & (Beautiful (2008)

"Bad Guy" (2001)
Drama
6/10

"Beautiful" (2008)
Drama
6/10

Both movies, directed by Kim Ki-Duk. Both movies pretty much with a similar theme following relationships which are just completely fucked up. I dont really know what the hype is about Kim Ki-Duk. Does he have any movies without that kind of thing? Im not sold on the guy at all. Despite this, i still enjoyed the movies and thought the general brutality of the movies both (emotionally and physically) was sold over pretty well.

The list continues to grow........

1. A Moment To Remember 9.5/10
2. Tae Guk Gi - Brotherhood 9/10
3. The Good, The Bad & The Weird 9/10
4. Friend 8.5/10
   
5. Humming 8.5/10
6. Oldboy 8.5/10
7. Sad Movie 8.5/10
8. Sensitive Couple 8.5/10
9. Memories Of Murder 8/10
   
10. A Man Who Was Superman 8/10
11. Antique 8/10
12. A Bittersweet Life 8/10
    
13. Castaway On The Moon 8/10
    
14. The Chaser 8/10
15. My Boyfriend Is Type B 8/10
16. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter....and Spring
    
17. Mother 7.5/10
    
18. Romantic Island 7.5/10
    
19. Almost Love 7.5/10
20. Daisy 7.5/10
21. Lovers Concerto 7.5/10
22. My Sassy Girl 7.5/10
23. My Tutor Friend 7.5/10
24. Once Upon A Time In High School 7.5/10
25. Rainbow Eyes 7.5/10
    
26. Ride Away 7.5/10
27. Summer Whispers 7.5/10
28. Thirst 7/10
29. A Millionaire's First Love 7/10
30. All For Love 7/10
31. Breathless 7/10
32. Daddy Long Legs 7/10
33. Ghost House 7/10
    
34. Hansel & Gretel 7/10
    
35. He Was Cool 7/10
36. Hot For Teacher 7/10
    
37. Joint Security Area 7/10
38. Lovers of 6 Years 7/10
    
39. Maundy Thursday 7/10
40. My Love 7/10
41. Once In A Summer 7/10
    
42. Someone Special 7/10
43. The Classic 7/10
44. A Dirty Carnival 6.5/10
    
45. Break Out 6.5/10
46. Daytime Drinking 6.5/10
    
47. Guns & Talks 6.5/10
48. Holiday 6.5/10
49. Ing 6.5/10
50. More Than Blue 6.5/10
51. Speedy Scandal 6.5/10
    
52. Two Faces Of My Girlfriend 6.5/10
53. Bad Guy 6/10
    
54. Beautiful 6/10
    
55. Big Bang 6/10
    
56. Bungee Jumping Of Their Own 6/10
57. My Scary Girl 6/10
58. The Host 6/10
    
59. 200 Pounds Beauty 5/10
60. A Tale Of Two Sisters 5/10
61. April Snow 5/10
62. Death Bell 5/10
    
63. Venus & Mars 4.5/10
    
64. My Girl & I 4/10

Getting A Haircut In Japan

Getting a haircut in Japan is difficult. But probably the most difficult part is actually bringing yourself to visit an actual hairdressers.....

Will they understand what kind of haircut i want?

Are they gonna completely fuck it up?

How much is a pair of hair clippers in Japan anyway?.......just in case

Well things went quite smoothly this time and the outcome, as expected, wasnt quite what i wanted but way closer than last time. Here is how i explained what i wanted:

ほしいスタイルは横と裏はショートが上は長い。

下は二番。

下から上まで長くなります。(trying to make sure they didnt give me a fucking army haircut)

上はちょっとだけ。(making a hand gesture which suggests a tiny amount)

And so hey presto, i look young again and the haircut turned out pretty good! Last time i told the guy to take off half off the top....he took off more than half. So this time i asked him to take a small amount off the top......he took off half. I guess i cant win that one :s.

Avatar

Ill sum this up real quick......Impressive, beautiful but unfortunately, a little too immature. It doesnt help that Sam Worthington has ZERO charisma either.

The 3D was worth it though (^_^)b

John`s Art: finally got round to finishing off that Hulk drawing.....

Click For Better Resolution :p

The most disappointing thing about celebrating New Years in Japan.......

.....the Japanese people

Seriously, we were surrounded by people down at Minato Mirai (Yokohama Bay Area) and as soon as the big ferris wheel/clock struck midnight we were jumping around, hugging, popping bottles, you know, doing all the typical new years celebrations. What were the Japanese people around us doing? Nothing. Most of the people just watched us really.

2010: New Years Resolutions

1. Get back in shape!
I havent done any exercise since i arrived in Japan and so im losing my build :(. When i first arrived here actually i found, after weighing myself, that i lost some weight. At first, i put this down to being because Japanese food is processed a lot better despite the fact that i was eating like crazy. In actual fact i think it was just muscle mass that i lost and so now i need to work at getting that back. Ive worked myself out a routine anyway which is an old one i used before, slightly modified. Point 1 kinda leads on to point 2.....

2. Stop eating so much crap!
One thing i noticed in particular is that whenever i see a taiyaki stand, i have to eat there. I even have a fucking points card for one taiyaki stand which i have now given to one of my friends in an attempt to crush my taiyaki addiction. Another problem which a couple of us have is that if we ever eat anywhere and leave on a still relatively empty stomach, we just fill up on some 100 yen cheeseburgers from mcdonalds.

3. Study!
I havent really studied once since ive been here. Big mistake! Because the level of classroom Japanese started somewhere below my current level i was lured into simply taking things easy and chilling out. I need to start taking things more seriously and start studying more.

4. Slow down on the drinking!
My parents think im an alcoholic now due to the fact that whenever i call them, its usually AFTER ive been to a bar or karaoke. This has to stop or im gonna get a beer belly! :(

5. Plan For Korea!
We are now in the planning stages for our trip to Korea! :D. I feel like ive waited for this moment for a long time, even though in actual fact, i only started giving a crap about 2 years ago. Anyway, i started looking at flights and accomodation with my friend, all is looking cheap and we possibly have one or two korean natives coming with us. I also need to take my Korean study more seriously

6. Draw!
I recently started to draw using pencils which has actually turned out pretty good! Im still far from any decent recruitable level yet so i should be constantly trying to improve my skills. I think the level im at now, compared to the level i was at say one year ago shows that practice pays off.

7. Keep in touch
ive really neglected the people i left back home and really should make a point to call them more often. Sorry Pete!!! x