An Earthquake and Another Awesome Movie
I felt my first earthquake this last sunday, or so I am told. You may have heard about the 7.0 quake that hit southern Japan this weekend, injuring some (I don't think anyone died) and doing some property damage. Apparently, in a very minor way, it's effects extended to Daejeon and beyond.
Sunday morning I was sitting on this very computer, checking my email I think, when I felt the apartment swaying slightly. I recognized the feeling immediately, having worked on a tenting crew, in positions with much more sway than this apartment could ever give without falling down.
At the same time, someone was moving in (or out) a floor or two above us. Out here, since everything is apartments, they have designed these machines that raise a platform up to your door, or balcony, to ease the moving process. You can load your furniture and appliances on this platform, and it takes them down for you.
I mentioned that the earthquake was slight didn't I? I assumed that the apartment swaying was simply this machine hooking up and tightening its grip, and instead of marveling at the disapointing nature of my first earthquake, I was slightly perturbed that these moving machines exerted enough force to cause the apartment to sway.
Now I just wonder if that makes me really naive or not.
Meanwhile I watched my second Korean movie, entitled "Natural City" which I thouroughly enjoyed, though in a completely different way than the movie I mentioned in the previous blog.
This movie is a post-apocalyptic, cyborg, martial arts, romance film. From its odd, and seemingly inconsequential, symmetries to the inevitability of the main character awaking from his daze to save the day at the last minute, this movie does an excellent job of taking elements which are usually poorly done and weaving them together into an enthralling film.
How's that for a review?
Seriously though, the music was awesome, the fight scenes were sweet, and despite being a robot/fighting movie it actually had a good story line. To top it all of, the ending was very well done. The actual ending, i.e. story wise, was good, but what got me even more was the final artsy ending fade out scene. The girl who survives is standing on top of a ruined builing, leaning on a half crumbled statue of a goddess, in the midst of a flower bed she planted despite the fact that nothing grows in the dead cities. The flowers did grow, the final line "It is said that there used to be two goddesses here who sent the prayers of the lonely up in flower petals" (or something like that). A spaceship, the luxury liner which takes those able to afford it to the 'planet of rebirth', flies overhead drawing flower petals and dust in amidst the roar from its engine, turning the dust into glowing embers. The scene slowly turns towards the new and thriving city as the sky fills with the sparkling mixture from the roof of the ruin. Cue the fadeout and ending music.
Good stuff.
I felt my first earthquake this last sunday, or so I am told. You may have heard about the 7.0 quake that hit southern Japan this weekend, injuring some (I don't think anyone died) and doing some property damage. Apparently, in a very minor way, it's effects extended to Daejeon and beyond.
Sunday morning I was sitting on this very computer, checking my email I think, when I felt the apartment swaying slightly. I recognized the feeling immediately, having worked on a tenting crew, in positions with much more sway than this apartment could ever give without falling down.
At the same time, someone was moving in (or out) a floor or two above us. Out here, since everything is apartments, they have designed these machines that raise a platform up to your door, or balcony, to ease the moving process. You can load your furniture and appliances on this platform, and it takes them down for you.
I mentioned that the earthquake was slight didn't I? I assumed that the apartment swaying was simply this machine hooking up and tightening its grip, and instead of marveling at the disapointing nature of my first earthquake, I was slightly perturbed that these moving machines exerted enough force to cause the apartment to sway.
Now I just wonder if that makes me really naive or not.
Meanwhile I watched my second Korean movie, entitled "Natural City" which I thouroughly enjoyed, though in a completely different way than the movie I mentioned in the previous blog.
This movie is a post-apocalyptic, cyborg, martial arts, romance film. From its odd, and seemingly inconsequential, symmetries to the inevitability of the main character awaking from his daze to save the day at the last minute, this movie does an excellent job of taking elements which are usually poorly done and weaving them together into an enthralling film.
How's that for a review?
Seriously though, the music was awesome, the fight scenes were sweet, and despite being a robot/fighting movie it actually had a good story line. To top it all of, the ending was very well done. The actual ending, i.e. story wise, was good, but what got me even more was the final artsy ending fade out scene. The girl who survives is standing on top of a ruined builing, leaning on a half crumbled statue of a goddess, in the midst of a flower bed she planted despite the fact that nothing grows in the dead cities. The flowers did grow, the final line "It is said that there used to be two goddesses here who sent the prayers of the lonely up in flower petals" (or something like that). A spaceship, the luxury liner which takes those able to afford it to the 'planet of rebirth', flies overhead drawing flower petals and dust in amidst the roar from its engine, turning the dust into glowing embers. The scene slowly turns towards the new and thriving city as the sky fills with the sparkling mixture from the roof of the ruin. Cue the fadeout and ending music.
Good stuff.
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