With Apologies to Feynman

I'm sitting in this busy coffee shop, allowing my mind to ruminate as it will, on what it will. My cup of tea cools on the table in front of me, wisps of steam unfolding in waves as it drifts off into apparent nothingness. Every so often, the scent sneaks past, tickling my nose with the hint of fruity sweetness.

Someone recently expressed to me her bewilderment of how I could enjoy a world without the supernatural, bereft of the unknown and filled only with cold science.

Yellow Line, Silver Hook

A short time ago, Wil made the rounds peddling a magical story of an enchanting busker who saved the day from a misfired urban transit adventure. While I’m not against romanticizing the power of art, even when anchored to a derelict street performer, Wil’s rendition of that Thursday’s events requires some perspective, namely mine. Being immune to all manner of men’s magic and enchantment, I saw beyond the poorly dyed hair and the red, cherry wood guitar to see the nature of the performer’s poorly constructed façade. What Wil, and many others that day, failed to realize was that Jim was so much more and so much less than a mystical roving musician.

Yellow Line

I'm not much of a storyteller. My dad would randomly say "So, there I was- knee-deep in grenade pins and running out of ammunition." By itself it's sort of amusing, but there was never a story that followed- or if there was, it never had anything to do with the introduction. I always laugh, because it's supposed to be funny, but it's not nearly so funny as it is supposed to be. I could claim that my dad's inability to tell stories well became mine over time, but I just like to get to the punchline too quickly. So this story will surely start awkwardly as I try to work into an actual tale and not just giving the long and short of it. Though, really, if we count this as the introduction, we've already started in an awkward manner.

Expulsion from Eden: Troll 2 and the Beauty of Almost There

Troll 2 is widely recognized today as the movie with immense promise but lackluster results. Going over the bare bones of the script, we can see how the plethora of ideas became practically pointless with small errors and mistakes. Now audiences watch Troll 2 to see tragedy occurring on screen – to see what it’s like for a plane full of Fulbright Scholars to crash in a fiery blaze. Here are the 8 greatest ingredients that help craft the magic of Troll 2 and why they came up short.

The Best Korean Movies of the Decade: The Final 5

We now start into the finale! Here’s the recap:

25: The Host
24: Searching for the Elephant
23: A Tale of Two Sisters
22: Samaritan Girl
21: Our School
20: 200 Pounds Beauty
19: Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War
18: Forever the Moment
17: Il Mare
16: Sunny
15: Silmido
14: Oldboy
13: My Love
12: Addicted
11: The Chaser
10: Daytime Drinking
9: Welcome to Dongmakgol
8: Voice of a Murderer
7: My Sassy Girl
6: The King and the Clown

The Finale! The top 5 starts after the jump.

The Best Korean Movies of the Decade: The Omissions

I haven't seen every Korean movie made in the last 10 years. I've seen a lot, but great movies have slipped passed. There have been other movies that I've seen that were also good, receiving a lot of attention from critics and audiences around the world, that I simply didn't enjoy. Before I start the top 5, I want to discuss the movies that didn't quite make my list. In no particular order, here are The Omissions:

The Best Korean Films of the Decade: 10 –> 6

Here’s the recap:

25: The Host
24: Searching for the Elephant
23: A Tale of Two Sisters
22: Samaritan Girl
21: Our School
20: 200 Pounds Beauty
19: Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War
18: Forever the Moment
17: Il Mare
16: Sunny
15: Silmido
14: Oldboy
13: My Love
12: Addicted
11: The Chaser

So now we break the Top 10!