The 2008 Megaholic Movie Diary

SY and I saw Happily Never After (엘라의 모험, in Korean) on February 8, and the movie theater gave us a pair of “movie diaries,” passport-lookin’ things that we could put the tickets in to keep track of the movies we see. For every different ticket or snack combo you buy, they stamp your diary, and then you get free stuff.

Watching movies is my biggest hobby, and this kind of thing only feeds the addiction. What made it all the more interesting was the June 30 expiration date for all the special offers. With my shipout date for the Army set the beginning of July, it was perfect.

So I’d made it my mission to watch enough movies to fill up all 12 spaces plus use all the free junk they give you for blowing so much money.

On March 1, we saw Jumper, starring Hayden Christiansen and Samuel L. Jackson. Jackson played the bad guy pretty well – almost the perfect mix of cruelty and wrong-headed conviction to make you dislike him while still understanding him. Hayden was a bit more likeable in this movie than in the Star Wars prequels, though he’s just as whiney. In fact, it seems the only characters he can play are the whiny ones – the only other movie I’ve seen him in was ____ with Kevin Spacey, and sure enough, he played a whiney teenager. Too bad…

On April 26, I saw Forbidden Kingdom with a friend of mine. It stars Jackie Chan (成龙, 성룡), and Jet Li (李连杰, 이연걸). Although the martial arts played a smaller role than what I’d expected, it was good family entertainment, and I’d like to get the DVD as some point (preferably the Region 5 Chinese one).

At this point, I got a free ticket to a matinée show, so I saw Iron Man on Children’s Day (어린이날), May 5. Matinées are a bit different in Korea. Like in the U.S., it’s the first show of the day. However, in the States that’s usually about 11:00; in Korea, it’s 8:30 am. Even so, being a holiday, the place was pretty packed.

The movie itself was better than expected; Robert Downey, Jr. did a great job playing the out-of-control millionnaire (a conscious selection by the producers). There were also enough references to the smaller details from the comic books to make the hard-core fans happy.

The following Monday, May 12, was another holiday – Buddha’s Birthday (석가탄신일) – so I saw Speed Racer. In Korea, it was successful because a famous Korean singer (Rain, 비) played the Japanese bad guy. The movie was cute, though not particularly noteworthy. Apart from the theme song and the really fast dialogue, I don’t remember much about the cartoon, so I can’t really compare the two versions.

Then, I saw Prince Caspian on May 17, again with my friend. I enjoyed this one a bit more than the first because Edward, having matured, was a lot cooler. The role of Caspian (Ben Bones?) was also well cast.

For my birthday, SY and I saw Indiana Jones 4 together. Though we were a bit rushed dropping the baby off with her parents’, we made it just in time for the start of the show. Afterward ,we went to the Cold Stone Creamery that just opened at COEX and split a waffle cup. Good memory there.

Having quit my jobs at the end of May, my movie watching pattern had to change. Though I had more free time, my wife also expected me to help out around the house more, and we had to get ready to move on the 22nd. So SY said it was OK to watch movies, but only the matinées – that way I could get back home before 11:00 and be available for the rest of the day.

Movie number eight was Kung Fu Panda on June 7. The coolest thing about this movie was the way they integrated the Chinese names for the animals – the old master, a turtle, is named “Wūguī,” (乌龟 / 烏龜). This is another movie I’d like to get the Region 5 version of.

I was at a loss on how to use up free movie ticket number two (I’d seen most everything I wanted to), so I saw Penelope on June 16. That’s another cute one – good for a date (as long as she’s not self-conscious about her nose).

By this point, I was getting a little nervous. Though I’d picked up the pace quite a bit, I was running out of time. I had only two more weeks four more movies, no matter how you slice it, that’s a bit tough when you’re married with a newborn.

Fortunately, opening day for Get Smart was June 20, so I ran off and saw that. It was about as funny as the Pink Panther, but some of the surprise was ruined because I saw a TV show with an idiotic number of spoilers. Still, the undercurrents were classic, (“bad guys are people, too”), the Bush potshots were funny, and some of the dialogue was just hilarious (“Doesn’t he know bones are crunchy? Who’d want to eat a crunchy puddin?”). They even set up the sequel well with Patrick Warburton.

After that was Incredible Hulk with my friend again. Neither one of us had seen the first one, but that didn’t matter – it was still fun. It was funny, too, though not always intentional. For instance, there was the intentionally funny “don’t make me [adjective]” brought in from the TV show, along with the Lou Ferrigno appearance. Unintentionally funny things included getting from the Brazilian favelas to Guatemala in one night; that’s even better than the Bad Boys 2 geographic challenge.

On June 21, SY and I packed up our apartment during the day and then watched What Happens in Vegas in the evening. Now here’s a movie every married couple should see – just great. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the role they stuck Michelle Krusiac with: the stereotypical “competitive Asian girl.”

Irritating.

SY went out with a friend and saw Sex in the City on June 25 for stamp number eleven, and for the final stamp I watched Wanted on June 26. (What a dumb movie, but hearing Morgan Freeman drop the F-bomb a few times just about made up for it. You sure didn’t hear that stuff in March of the Penguins.)

Having filled up the movie diary, we got five free passes, two with which we’ll watch Hancock when it opens, and three we’ll give to my friend to watch with his two daughters.

And now, having accomplished my #1 goal for the summer, I can now leave for basic training in peace.