"The Dark Knight"

I saw the Batman movie this weekend. After hearing so much praise for the movie I decided to see it for myself. Thankfully I got free movie passes from work. I went to the first showing on Sunday morning (10am) thinking that Friday and Saturday were really the 'high attendance' days. When I first went into the theater (approx 20 min. prior to start of movie) there were a couple dozen people there, but that's it. By the time the movie started - the entire theater was FULL.

The portrayal of The Joker is every bit award winning as you've likely heard/read in every review of the movie. Heath effectively portrays The Joker as psychotic instead of just a mad cartoon character. You can definitely imagine such a person existing. The Joker is a very engaging character in the movie. You know when he's on the screen that you're going to be fully entertained. Not to take away from the performances of the other actors/characters - but it makes me wish the Joker had even more face time in the movie. I thought it was interesting that they chose Chicago as the backdrop for this movie - I always pictured "Gotham" as being a fictional version of New York City.

If you've ever fancied yourself a fan of action movies (mild or extreme), then you will enjoy this movie. A friend of mine said it's one of his all time favorites - and coming from a movie buff, that says a lot.

The only thing I didn't like was people bringing their pre-school kids to this movie. I just don't think it's inappropriate to bring little kids to violent movies. If they need a booster seat to see the screen - they are too young to be watching this movie. Let little kids keep their innocence for as long as possible instead of encouraging them to be desensitized to violence.
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Spiderwick Chronicles

I went to see "The Spiderwick Chronicles" today with Jazzmin. It's a fantasy movie for kids which came from a popular book. The basis of the story is this boy's great great uncle discovered all the secrets of this other realm of fairies, goblins and the like and chronicled it's secrets in this book. The great great uncle got taken away by some fairies (or other) and leaves the book behind. His daughter spent her whole life in that house until they finally sent her to the funny farm at age 86. She was sent there because they thought she was crazy for believing in this other realm. That's when the boy and his family end up moving into her house and discovering all the secrets.

It really was a great story about the kids navigating the magical world and how to keep the chronicle from the 'bad guy'. At the very end the great aunt's (daughter of great great uncle) dad shows up (who hasn't seen her dad in 80 years). The fairies allowed him to come back for a moment since the book was safe again but he had to go back to where he was 'trapped' all these years. If he tried to enter present time he would turn to dust. After being caught up in the movie you feel happy for the 86 year old woman who finally gets to see her dad, whom she hasn't seen since she was 6. She asks her dad a favor and to take her with him this time - so he does. When he takes her hand she transforms back into a 6 year old and goes off with her dad.

At the very moment the 86 year old women's dad showed up I started to get emotional. At first because of the story and thought it was great she got to see her dad after all this time. And then it suddenly hit me that I wish I could see my dad again. If I hadn't been in a public place I prodably would've cried my 'eyes out' right then and there. As it was I had to do my best to hold back the tears. The whole way home was just a constant effort to not start balling. Thankfully, Jazzmin knows how to deal with me when I'm upset and just left me alone. She didn't say one word - this from a girl who chats on endlessly in a normal set of circumstances. I had to hold my scarf over my eyes most of the way home to try and stop from crying. Halfway through the trip home I had to really go the bathroom - so I was able to focus on that instead of thinking about being upset.

Well, anyway, it was a really good movie. Perhaps not as good as the book - as know it alls are prone to say. But you can only fit but so much in the time frame allotted for a movie. Jazzmin and I really enjoyed it and found it to be one of the few movies worth the price of admition instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD.

Netflix this week...

Black Books, Disc 1: This is a British TV series created by the writer who also brought us "The IT Crowd" ("Black Books" precedes "The IT Crowd"). I had high hopes for this show since I love "The IT Crowd" so much, but I found it wasn't as funny. It is amusing but I think the lead actor was not meant to be a comedic actor. Had a different person played the role, I think the show would've been much funnier.

If I had to compare this show to another, I'd say it's "The Young Ones" for the 30-something generation. It's like the writer had these funny bits he wanted to do so he built a storyline around it, and the story line is incidental. And while the funny bits are, indeed, humorous - the show lacks an overall cohesiveness. Below is part of the first episode I got from YouTube so you can check it out for yourself:


Clip from "THE YOUNG ONES" referenced above:

Stained Glass, Disc 6: Yuichi confronts Ji-Soo once he figures out that his adoptive father is also Ji-Soo's birth father. Ji-Soo said that she resents her father and Yuichi's mother because her mother died of sadness as a result of what her father did and his mother caused it. She said she couldn't be with the person who was part of that. He insists he is going to stay in Korea until she changes her mind.

The sh*t hits the fan with regard to discovering who ordered the hit on Gi-Tae's half brother. The fiance of the dead half-brother tells Gi-Tae's father that Gi-Tae ordered the hit - knowing full well it was Gi-Tae's mother who did it. She decided to do it this way because it would be the most hurtful to Gi-Tae's mother because the rejection from his father would ruin Gi-Tae which would, in turn, hurt Gi-Tae's mother the most. And once Gi-Tae's father disowned him and Gi-Tae ran off to go into hiding (because he was so hurt, not because he thought he was in trouble), the fiance told the father that it was actually Gi-Tae's mother and not Gi-Tae. She only did it this way so she could hurt the father by causing him to ruin his relatinship with Gi-Tae. She also blames Gi-Tae's father because he treated Gi-Tae and his mother so badly that it drove the mother to this kind of desperation.

Yuichi heads an all out search for Gi-Tae - he wants to be there for his friend because he know what a blow his father's rejection would have on him. It was a month or so before they finally found him in this small town, sleeping in a shed. He was very sick. Yuichi got Ji-Soo to rush to the small village to help him to convince Gi-Tae to return. It is revealed that Gi-Tae is having problems with is kidney, which is ironic since he donated one of his kidneys to Yuichi when they were boys. But Yuichi and Ji-Soo are unaware of the seriousness of his condition. Gi-Tae said he'd only return home if the 2 of them got married as he was a witness. With a little convincing, they decide to get married and Ji-Soo finally admits she still wants to be with Yuichi.

The day of the wedding Gi-Tae is doing worse and starts coughing up blood, unbeknownst to Yuichi and Ji-Soo. Yuichi and Ji-Soo are waiting at the chapel for Gi-Tae to arrive but he never does. So they return to the hotel to find him - as the get to the lobby the see Gi-Tae's father and sister there looking for him. Then this gentleman who was at the reception counter was pointed in the direction of Gi-Tae's family with a wet coat and wallet in hand. They ask them if the know the person on the ID and it's Gi-Tae. Ji-Soo and Yuichi rund to the beach crying because they think Gi-Tae drowned himself.

Gi-Tae had told Ji-Soo about this story from the movie "Cinema Paradiso" about this story of a guy who wanted to marry this princess. She said she would if he would wait outside her window for 100 days - and he waits up until the 99th day and then left. He asks her if she knows why he'd leave when he only had one day to go. But she didn't know. So after Gi-Tae's death she watches the movie and finds out the answer, the answer being - to find out the princess won't keep her promise is more devastating then just walking away never knowing. And now she knows why Gi-Tae killed himself.

In the end you see Yuichi and Ji-Soo at the airport - you know Yuichi is going back to Japan so you assume Ji-Soo is there to go with him. But then it turns out that Ji-Soo is going to Europe to pursue her photography career and Yuichi goes to Japan alone. Then it flashes back to the location of the time capsule they burried as kids with Gi-Tae. They promise to meet again in that spot in 12 years as they originally set out to do as kids. And maybe Gi-Tae isn't really dead (as they never found a body) but lost the way Yuichi was when he got washed down stream as a kid and was presumed dead.

Princess Hourse, Disc 3: Will write this up later today...

This week on Netflix...

Stained Glass, Disc 4: Gi-Tae was getting overbearing in the last disc and was starting to suspect that there might be something going on btw. Yuichi and Ji-Soo. Which caused him to be even more overbearing in his pursuit of Ji-Soo. But in this disc - Gi-Tae has gone full blown Glen Close in Fatal Attraction. Right down to the scene of turning the light on and off alone in a dark room.

First he starts by having his sister invite Ji-Soo out for dinner and then he "just happens" to show up with Yuichi. Trying to force his sister and Yuichi into being a couple and trying to force Ji-Soo to see him as a love interest. But when that doesn't work he employs the help of his sister to break up Yuichi and Ji-Soo - so she plants a story in the paper that she is dating Yuichi. Hoping Ji-Soo will see that and get really upset, it doesn't work. Gi-Tae takes to waiting outside her apartment when she goes out with Yuichi. Showing up places he knows she will be. She tries to let him down gently - but it only makes him more determined to get her to change her mind.

Yuichi has to go back to Japan soon since that is where his company (the one he is heir to) and family are. He proposes to Ji-Soo in a grand fashion with a romantic gesture. But the scene ends with them in each other's arms and her having not given an answer. Later on she accepts his proposal. Gi-Tae gets more desperate so he waits at her door again after a date with Yuichi and demands she gets in the car. He drives her off to some desolate area to plead once again for her to be with him. When she declines he threatens that if he can't be with her then neither can Yuichi. It kinda seemed like he was implying he was going to kill her or himself - but I guess I was wrong. Instead he seeks to ruin Yuichi's car insurance company by starting one of his own and taking Yuichi's employees.

A side story going on is it's becoming increasingly evident that Gi-Tae's mother arranged the death of his half brother. Thus making way for Gi-Tae to be sole heir instead of the black sheep of the family that they want to send abroad to never return to Korea. The fiance to the dead half-brother suspects foul play because how the accident came about was a scenario out of character for her fiance. So she investigates the matter on her own since the police have already ruled it an accident. The mother finds this out and gets visibly nervous everytime she gets an update on the young girl's investigation. It doesn't appear that she suspects Gi-Tae's mother involvement yet.

Princess Hours, Disc 2: Shin and the crown princess Chae are still getting on each other's nerves and adjusting to the fact they are now married. Despite the fact the situation isn't perfect - Chae finds that she is starting to have feelings for Shin. At one point she thinks he's listening to his discman so she confesses that while she knows he still holds feelings for his ex and would likely rather be married to her; the thought of her not being married to him makes her feel miserable. Chae later finds out he didn't have a disc in the device and heard everything she said. She was very embarrassed.

Shin has a birthday party on the royal private island. Shin's friends thought they'd have a good laugh at the Chae's expense by speaking English to her. All Chae can do is stand there confused - wondering what they're saying. Shin's ex comes by and tries to defend her - telling them to stop. Suddenly, in one breath, Chae answers the 3 questions Shin's friends asked her in English and then walks away. Basically showing them up because she figured out what they had said to her in English and then answered the in English. At the gift ceremony everybody got Shin these expensive gifts, Chae chooses to (instead) make him a gift by decorating Shin's house shoes in a traditional design. Shin's friend's skoff at the gift and Shin just kinda stares out not knowing what to say. Later on he's sitting alone admiring the shoes and tries them on.

During the course of the episode Chae gets upset about Shin treating their marriage as a bargaining tool with his parents in front of her. And he reminds her that she only married him for his money. She gets extremely upset that he implies she's a gold digger and compares herself to some character in a tv show. Shin feels bad about the argument after the fact and wonders what she meant re: her tv show reference and asks his assistant to let him view it. This showing that he's also starting to have some hint of feelings for Chae because is seeking to understand her. Yes - normally that would not be a showing of interest but if you know Shin's character - it is.

At one point Chae and Shin have to go to some function together - as they're getting ready Shin really starts to look at her in a different way. He becomes more attracted to her. During the function they comically dance together (wasn't supposed to be funny - Chae just can't dance).

An important side story in this show is Shin's aunt is intent on having his cousin returned to crown prince and take Shin's place. Yul lost being crown prince after his father died and Shin's father became king. There are other reasons, but that doesn't come out until later on in the series. At this point Yul (Shin's cousin) is only going along with it to make his mom happy after all the suffering she's gone through. So in an effort to start the ball rolling on ruining Shin's public image - she employs the help of a tabloid editor to have people throw eggs at Shin when the press is busy taking photos. When this happens, Chae makes a vast effort to block Shin from being hit by the eggs.

Shin was humiliated and spent a good part of the day alone in his room. After speaking with Yul, Chae decides it's her duty as his wife to go see Shin and try to cheer him up (Shin witness Yul and Chae talking on the porch). Yul warns against it - stating she'll only put him in a worse mood, that it's better just to leave him alone in this scenario. But she goes anyway. As she goes to look for Shin in his room he comes from behind her. He says he is glad to see her - that he knows everybody else will stay away for fear of making his mood worse. But the fact she came makes him feel better. Now being how Shin is - any sign of warmth is major on his part.

Stained Glass, Disc 5: Well I'm almost to the end of the series - only one more disc after this one. This was a very eventful disc. It started out with Gi-Tae giving up on his revenge on Yuichi by ruining Yuichi's company and falls into a deep depression. He was bed ridden due to his depression - so his mother appealed to Ji-Soo to go see him to help him feel better. But Gi-Tae threw her out of his room. Yuichi and Ji-Soo are still going strong and looking forward to moving to Japan and getting married. Gi-Tae decides to enter into a marriage of convenience to move on with his life and forget about Ji-Soo.

Yuichi sets up a meeting btw. Ji-Soo and his father since he intends to marry Ji-Soo. But when his father walks into the room and sees Ji-Soo he becomes very rattled and upset. The same seems to be happening to Ji-Soo. We later find out that Yuichi's adoptive father is actually Ji-Soo's birth father. It turns out Ji-Soo's mother lied when she said her father died - he actually abandoned his Korean family to start a family with this other woman in Japan. Ji-Soo breaks off the engagement with Yuichi pretending it was due to the fact his father didn't approve of the marriage and he was very rude to her. Yuichi tries very hard to convince her to change her mind, but she won't. So his final ultimatum was to ask her to meet him at the church to marry him - just the 2 of them. If she shows up - they marry and go to Japan. If she doesn't then he'll take it as a sign and move on. Needless to say she doesn't show up.

During the course of events Gi-Tae's sister inadvertently finds out that Yuichi's father is actually Ji-Soo's birth father when she snoops in a package Ji-Soo got from her father. Ji-Soo's father sent Ji-Soo every birthday gift he bought for her but didn't send - as proof that he was always thinking of her while he was away in Japan. Gi-Tae's sister quickly shares this information with Gi-Tae and he gets excited because now he sees this as his opportunity to be with Ji-Soo. So he meets up with Ji-Soo but this time he takes a much less aggressive approach and the two of them seem like the friends they used to be prior to when Yuichi came to town.

The disc ends with Yuichi in a car headed to the airport to return to Japan. He takes out his and his father's seperate hotel bills. He notices in his father's bill that he sent a package to Ji-Soo - that's when he starts putting 2 and 2 together. How Ji-Soo has the same last name as his father's Korean name and a bunch of other things. He realizes his adoptive father is Ji-Soo's birth father and yells for the car to turn around. And that's when the disc ends.

It was mentioned in the show that Yuichi and Ji-Soo could get married because even though they're not blood relation -they have the same father and it wouldn't be morally right for them to get married. I also read in one of the Netflix member reviews that everything ends suddenly to avoid scandal. So I guess I am not going to be happy when I finish watching disc 6 next week. But we'll see what happens!

As for the side story of Gi-tae's mother having his half brother killed - it seems that the dead son's fiance is on to Gi-tae's mother and knows she had something to do with her fiance's death. So Gi-tae's mother leaves the country to avoid getting in trouble. So we'll see how this all turns out next week! THE FINALE!

This week on Netflix...

Princess Hours, Disc 1: I have watched this entire series already but I liked it so much the first time that I wanted to see it again. I was wondering if I would enjoy it as much the second time - since I already knew what was going to happen. Fortunately, that was not the case - I still enjoyed watching it.

I know I already posted regarding what this drama/comedy is about. But just to recap - it's about supposing Korea had a constitutional monarchy (as England does). And the story revolves around an arranged marriage between Crown Prince Shin and Chae-kyeong (a commoner). The marriage comes about as a result of a promise the late king made to his best friend (Chae's grandfather). Shin and Chae don't get along at first but they grow to like each other as time progresses. What gets in the way of that is Shin has always been a loner and doesn't know how to express himself. And while, at times, he's able to clue her in on how he feels - he often pushes her away unintentionally. He also struggles with her friendship with his cousin Yul because Yul makes it plain that he wants to break up the marriage so he can be with Chae. Another problem is Shin's ex who wants to get him back - though Shin never expresses wanting to be with her. But he still considers her a good friend.

Brenda is watching the series for the first time - she doesn't like Shin. I don't think she understands Shin's jealousy over his wife's friendship with his cousin is a sign that he's developed feelings for her. Which excites most viewers - but causes Brenda to greatly dislike him. We'll see what she thinks as the story develops.

Monarch of the Glenn, Disc 1: Just to break away from my preoccupation with Korean dramas - I decided to 'mix it up' and start watching a British series. I periodically forget that I don't generally like modern day British dramas. Love British period shows/moves and some of the comedies are fun to watch. But modern day dramas couldn't be more boring. I could barely get through the first episode and chose to turn it off. I guess you win some and you lose some. The first episode, at least, was about a son returning to his rural home where they had this beautiful manor. He went back because his father hand a minor accident - whom he doesn't get along with. In returning he finds out that his parents are deep in debt and he was willed the manor a while back but was never told. ZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzZzzzzzzzzz The characters have nothing engaging about them - not sure how they could hold anybody's interest.

Stained Glass, Disc 3: Netflix has some sort of conspiracy against me - I wanted to receive 2 discs this week but they only sent me 1. It seems these Korean dramas are in great demand and had to be shipped to me from out of state.

The thing about these dramas is that you know that everybody is going to live happily ever after... eventually. But still the story is woven in such a manner that you're still on pins and needles when there is an obstacle in the couple's way and relieved when things seem to be going their way - despite knowing the inevitable outcome. What is also great is the story takes twists and turns you can't predict. They also develop side stories that are part of the main story but also have their own thing going on. What starts off as a snow ball of a storyline turns into a huge boulder as the story goes on - more things get added, drama builds and you just love it.

So when I left off in disc 2 Ji-Soo (girl) and Yuichi (boy) had just embraced and were kissing passionately. I foolishly thought that this meant they'd start to be in a relationship. But when I started watching disc 3 she pulled back and felt he was only interested in her due to pity. Gi-Tai (boy) is still being overbearing with his pursuit of Ji-Soo. He realizes that Ji-Soo has feelings for Yuichi but thinks he can force the issue and make things come his way. Ji-Soo and Yuichi have several moments where they enjoy each other's company and you know they want to be together but things with Gi-Tae just get in the way.

In an effort to break up the tension of the 'love triangle', Ji-Soo moves out of Gi-Tae's family's house. Around that time Gi-Tae finds out his half-brother died in an accident and now he's no longer the black sheep of the family. His father asks him and his mother (as Gi-Tae was the product of his father's infidelity to his wife) to move in and to have Gi-Tae take over the company. Gi-Tae is happy because now he thinks he'll be worthy of Ji-Soo since he's a rich heir like Yuichi and he might gain favor with Ji-Soo as a result. Like the thick headed dope he is - he's wrong.

I can't really do this show justice - because there is so much going on. Not to mention the bits going on in the side stories. But I am loving the story and can't wait to see the unexpected twist and turns this story takes.

Netflix Presents.....

Every weekend I watch my Netflix movies - primarily Sunday mornings because I get up so early (6:30-7am) as dictated by my body. I'd sleep in later but that's when I wake up and can't get back to sleep. So I usually pop in my DVDs and watch. Thought I'd share my little critiques.

The Year of the Dog - This is a 97 minute PETA commercial that misses the mark regarding what it sets out to do. It's obvious that the makers of this film wanted it to be about a woman who loses her dog, to which she was very attached to. Through a series of events she becomes involved with animal rights activism which involves: stealing from her boss to support charities, ruining her in-law's 4-5 fur jackets and bringing her 6 year old niece to a slaughter house to "scare her straight" regarding eating meat which brings her niece to tears. In the end she feels she's found her niche in life as an animal activist and quits her job and rides off into the sunset happy that she's found her purpose. I don't know if it's Molly Shannon's acting, the script or both but they just made activists look completely nuts.

My Little Bride - About a 16 year old girl and a 22 yr old man who grew up together as a result of their grandfathers being so close. The grandfathers had always said they'd be in-laws one day but they both had sons. So the grand kids are asked to participate in an arranged marriage because the grandfather isn't in good health and he really wants this. The family is kinda reluctant and the kids refuse to do it. So the grandfather comically fiddles with the heart monitor controls to "scare" them into getting married for his sake. Which works. Long story short, they end up finding they actually do care about each other and it's a love match. The pairing just seemed a little creepy to me. That aside - it was as good as any American romantic comedy you see.

Stained Glass, Disc 2 - Really liked it - have 4 more discs to go! About these 3 kids who meet in an orphanage (Ji-Soo [girl], Gi-Tae [boy] and Yuichi [boy]) and what transpires when they become adults. (see post about Korean dramas to see premise of story) Fortunately they don't drag out the 3 of them getting together and realizing Yuichi isn't dead. And am really glad that they didn't drag out Yuichi stepping aside so Gi-Tae can be with Ji-Soo - even though she has never claimed any romantic feelings for Gi-Tae. At the end of the disc, Ji-Soo and Yuichi engage in a passionate make out session and Gi-Tae is being sent to study abroad by his father (whose company he works for). The show is really, really good - can't wait for the next disc!