"Captain America: Civil War" opened in Korea 1 week before the USA. So...I the first chance, I got, I went to see it. I was able to catch the 11pm showing and since I got there so late, my dinner options were quite few. I am doing a low carb, no sugar diet. For about a month I have not had any bread, rice, or sugar except on a few cheat days which, from what my nutritionist friend tells me, recalibrates my hormones. What I do know is that I have lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks and I feel great.  Korea doesn't really support my diet and so much of what is out there is loaded with sugar and carbs. There are lots of foods with hidden sugar and carbs such as cheese snacks and even meat sticks. The sauces are all loaded with stuff as well. So...being creative, I ordered a packed lunch from GS25 that had bean sprouts and side dishes. I over nuked this in the microwave so it wasn't very tasty and some of the stuff I couldn't eat. So...I continued searching for things. I was re...

Last night after a grueling week I decided to treat myself to a movie. First I went and got some egg wrapped rice rolls and then I went to see Batman Vs Superman.  The rice rolls were great. The movie was a perplexing hodgepodge. It's one of these movies I will see once and never see again just so I can say I experienced it. Was it a waste of $10 dollars? No... Not at all but I think the studios will have dropped almost a quarter of a billion dollars on this very dark and nihilistic vision of a super hero universe. All I have to say is about this is, "Why so Serious?"  Director Zack Snyder's direction works for 300 and Watchman but not for Superman. Possibly it would have worked for Batman but he just doesn't have the directorial fortitude of Christopher Nolan. Nolan has clout and conviction even if logically the movie has fallacies (i.e. Interstellar and Memento). Snyder tries to build up the characters as mythical figures but when the moment of sacrifice comes t...

Korean Avenger's Poster I am super excited! The Avengers Age of Ultron is coming to Korea on April 23rd! This is the Korean poster where the A becomes an 아 which is an ah sound. The Avengers in Korea is pronounced a-benj-gers. It's going to be very popular I believe. Exciting, Exciting, Exciting! Dan

Beer and Popcorn at CGV This is going to be a quick post since I am about to go out for a run before I head out to work. These days, I am trying to lose weight, although I do lapse back into eating some things I shouldn't. The problem is that in Korea there is so much to eat (that's good and it's too easily accessible.) For example, I was headed to to CGV movie theater with a friend to watch Captain America and they were advertising a beer and popcorn set for only 10,000 won. This set included two beers and a tub of popcorn. Of course, we had to get it since we were about to watch Captain America. Then there is my other little addiction in the HBC (Haebangchon): Casablanca Sandwicherie. Damn it, their Lamb Chili Sandwich is off the hook and it is the perfect drunk food. I've been trying to ween myself off these, but I think I went in for two last week. It's so good because the bread is plush, the ground lamb is flavorful and the additions of chickpeas, l...

Blast from the past. People getting punched before eating. This could be a great way to diet. By the way, you have to see Hot Rod! It's the funniest movie that I have seen in a long time. It's just goofy-don't think about it- funny. Dan

The opening chase sequence between James Bond and a terrorist bomb maker is mind boggling. The physical interchange between Bond and the bomb maker is a refreshing way to reveal character traits. This Bond is shown to be a raw, impulsive man, with excellent instincts that uses his intelligence and drive to defeat his superior foe. He is razor sharp and very cold and this new Bond (who is actually the old Bond.) lets his actions speak instead of catchy one liners. This isn't the suave bond of the past. He is raw and the movie has a feel more like the Bourne Identity than the Pierce Bronson Bond we've come know and possibly become disillusioned with. Eva Green was sweet and sultry but of course she couldn't be the virtuous girl that takes Bond away from the spy life, no, no, no. Of course she has an ulterior motive for loving Bond. The villian was just so, so and wasn't over the top like others and this Bond movie seemed like a "who's done it." at...

I'm back from a nice weekend. I saw the movie Prestige and I give it a B+. The acting was wonderful and David Bowie leaves a chilling, effective presence in the movie as the scientist Tesla. Hugh Jackman played his role, but it didn't have the gravity of Christian Bale. At times, I felt that I couldn't justify Jackman's character Angier's intelligence to pull off what he did. Now Bale stayed in character right to the end and I found my self going shifting my stance of his character from hate to empathy. I felt this movie was a bit condescending at time and undermined the intelligence of its audience by leaving very gaping hints at the eventual conclusion. There was a nice twist at the end, but the numerous hints destroyed the credibility of the movie and made it a "Sixth Sense"-esque thriller instead of an intricate "Usual Suspects" masterpiece. Dan