Mark James Russell

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Category: Random TV stuff (Page 1 of 2)

Pedro Pelo Marco (Me!) — Brazil Comes to Seoul

May 31, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Here is a fun project I participated in last year, but it only recently hit the airwaves—one of Brazil’s most popular travel programs, Pedro Pelo Mundo (Pedro Around the World).

Pedro Korea

Host Pedro Andrade and his wonderful team came to Korea last summer, where they met with a whole bunch of experts in food, fashion, tattoos, and more, to talk about what makes Korea so fascinating. And they were nice enough to ask me to be one of their guests, too.

Pedro Mark Hongdae

So we walked around Hongdae and talked about music (K-pop and other genres), and plenty of other things about Korea. It was a lot of fun.

Mark Pedro 2

Unfortunately, the full show is not online, so you can’t enjoy it all. But you can get a taste of it here, with a segment on the Cheonggyecheon.

Comics (and scifi?) come of age in 2017

May 9, 2017 / / 0 Comments

Legion

Okay, superheroes and science-fiction media franchises have been big business for around a decade now. So many superhero movies are getting released all the time, I know we’re getting sick of it all. But having just finished watching the Legion TV series, I think it’s safe to say the genre has really taken a major step forward, at least in terms in TV and the movies — at last, superhero media are becoming templates for telling all types of stories, light, serious, mainstream, and weird, like the comic books that inspired them.

When it comes to TV and movies, so much of superhero storytelling has long seemed, well, just bad. Even as a 7-year-old, watching the original Superman movie, the concept of spinning the planet Earth backwards to reverse time seemed pretty sketchy. Hollywood’s approach to superheroes, like scifi or fantasy in general, wasn’t very smart or respectful of the genre … and certainly not very good as scifi or fantasy.

But then in 2000 came the first X-Man movie, and its relative quality was a big surprise, followed by X-Men 2 and the first Spider-Man movies. Nevertheless, in terms of sophistication, tone, etc., most comics book movies and sci-fi movies were decades behind the mainstream culture (let alone the cutting edge) in writing and drawing.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman films were a big step forward and got all sorts of praise; but, really, they were mostly just updating the superhero movie to about the point of Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns miniseries (which came out in 1986!). Yes, they were progress, but still 25 years or so behind the comics (and then the Superman V. Batman movie went right back to that same well for more ideas).

Batman Superman

And even Nolan’s “serious” movies like Inception and Interstellar were pretty sketchy in terms of sci-fi — “the power of love” helping the hero cut through space-time to save the day? In 2014? Really?

Anyhow, so Marvel begins to kick butt once they took over their own production with the first Iron Man movie. People were generally pretty impressed and the film got lots of great reviews, peaking with the Avengers, but people soon grew tired with the noisy, meaninglessness of it all.

But it looks like Marvel was keeping an eye out on popular opinion, and took steps to stay ahead of the curve. And rather than doing so by emphasizing special effects and bombast, they’ve instead chosen to focus more on finding interesting voices to tell those stories. Choosing oddballs like James Gunn (who came from Troma Studios) and Scott Derrickson (who did a Hellraiser movie) was a sign of a new set of priorities.

This year, that approach to superheroes really got a lot more interesting, with the much-praised Logan movie, and now with the Legion TV series.

I really loved Legion in particular  because I so vividly remember reading those Chris Claremont-Bill Sienkiewicz issues of New Mutants that inspired the TV show. Back in the mid-1980s, coming across art like Sienkiewicz in mainstream comics was really mind-blowing. Collages, mixed media, and furious scribbles of jagged ink defined Sienkiewicz’s art, and I went crazy for it.

BS-NewMutants

Combining those classic comics with Noah Hawley (Fargo) was a masterstroke. As Bill Simmons said of the 30 For 30 documentary series he devised for ESPN: If you hire brilliant people, get out of the way and let them be brilliant.

BS-NM-David

To be honest, I was a bit ambivalent after the opening episode of Legion. I thought it was a bit precious, like it was trying too hard. I was worried that once the story got going, it was going to revert into something more traditionally superhero-y, with cheap, TV-level special effects. Was I ever wrong. Throughout the first season of Legion, the storytelling remained vibrant and creative, based on the characters rather than mindless action.

Factor in other good examples, like Arrival (a decent, if flawed, attempt to bringing Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life” to the big screen) and perhaps Blade Runner 2049, and it is looking like this is a very good time to be a fan of scifi movies.

large_Arrival-Poster-2016

Of course, there will still be plenty of dumb scifi and superheroes coming our way. 95% of everything is junk, as the saying goes. But it is nice to think that the best stuff is getting better, really pushing the boundaries of TV and film — even if it took a generation for those media to catch up to the comics.

Piqued by ‘Non Summit’

August 1, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Nearly a decade after KBS tortured us with “Misuda”, or “Chattering Beauties,” a show featuring foreign women talking about Korea (and perhaps being objectified a bit), JTBC gives us “Non Summit,” a rather similar show featuring young men from around the world who speak Korean.

I recall a lot of foreigners complaining about “Misuda” back when it was on the air, claiming that Koreans would never do a similar show with men. But now here we are, with foreign men being treated just as ridiculously as foreign women were way back when.

I just wonder if one of the guys will open a good makgeolli bar near my apartment, like Taru from “Misuda” did. (Information about Taru Jumak is here. Very good place).

Here’s a story talking a bit more about “Non Summit” and what they are aiming for.

If you want to get a sense of what the show is like, you can see it here with English subtitles. More subtitled episodes are linked here.

Anyhow, I know I’m complaining too much. But it is genuinely interesting to see a show like this on the air now. It’s amazing how much Korea keeps changing — both in terms of how well people around the world are learning Korea, and how much better Korea is becoming at dealing with the rest of the world.

 

Hip Korea on Discovery II: Even Hipper

June 10, 2009 / / 2 Comments

Back in February, I mentioned the HIP KOREA documentary on Discovery Channel, a program about the singer Rain and modern Korean culture in which I was involved.

Well, now it is time for episode 2 of HIP KOREA — SEOUL SAVVY, featuring the actor Lee Byung-hun. In many ways, HIP KOREA 2 is the prequel to the Rain episode, as this episode goes back and examines the changes Korea went through during the 1990s and into the 21st century. Rain is about where Korea is now, but Lee Byung-hun looks at how Korea got here.

It turns out that Lee Byung-hun is a pretty good conduit for that story — he first made it big in 1992/3, around the time Korea got its first civilian president. He made JSA in 2000, at the same time as the North-South Summit between the Koreas. He starred in a couple of huge TV dramas that helped spark the boom of Korean TV dramas around Asia (aka Hallyu). And he starred in a couple of really big movies (A BITTERSWEET LIFE and THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD) that showcased how far Korean movies and society have come along.

HIP KOREA — SEOUL SAVVY makes its debut on NHK in Japan on June 13 at 12:55am (technically June 14), in a two-hour, back-to-back showing with HIP KOREA — SEOUL VIBES (the Rain episode). It then encores on NHK BS (satellite) on June 19 at 8pm and June 20 at 4:30pm.

It airs in Discovery at the following times in the following locations:
Korea – Thursday, June 18 at 8pm. Encores on June 20 at 2pm, June 21 at 1am in the morning and June 23 at 12am midnight.
Singapore/HK/Malaysia – Thursday, June 18 at 7pm. Encores on June 20 at 1pm and 12am midnight and June 23 at 11pm.
Taiwan – Sunday, August 16 at 10pm. (Rain’s episode will be bundled and aired at 11pm.) Encores on August 23 at 3am and 3pm.


I am quite excited to finally have this going on the air — it was a lot of work and took nearly a year to make. Actually, considering how Lee Byung-hun is a fairly substantial chapter in my book, POP GOES KOREA, you could say I have been working on this episode for years. So I hope you have the time to check it out.

Trotting With the Conchords

March 10, 2009 / / 1 Comment

FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS is a rather unusual HBO comedy, featuring a couple of singing New Zealanders running loose in New York City. Each episode is a mix of odd jokes and odder musical numbers.

Season 2 featured one of the most unusual songs yet — a Korean noraebang-style trot tune. Complete with a rockin’ karaoke beat, subtitles, a cheesy background video. It made me do a happy dance. Watch it — you’ll happy dance, too.

(Thanks to All K-Pop for the catch).

PIFF Report and Random Notes

October 6, 2008 / / 1 Comment

Kind of a strange Pusan International Film Festival this year. Usually the festival opens on a Thursday, and the Asia Film Market then opens the following Monday. The result is that the first three days of the festival are more about the movies, with film fans flooding the theaters and snatching up all the tickets, then the business stuff kicks in.

But this year, with the Film Market running Friday to Monday, the business was going on during the busiest days of the festival, overshadowing the movies and making tickets extremely hard to find. I have returned to Seoul now, but from what I have heard, the festival is quiet empty now. I think PIFF made a mistake moving the Film Market and have disrupted the event’s equilibrium. My vote (not that I have one) is to move things back the way they were.

  • On the other hand, the weather this year was almost perfect. Aside from a little rain on Sunday afternoon, the weather was sunny and warm by day, slightly cool at night. Just right.
  • Park Jin-young and Lee Byung-hun were the main celebrities to show up this year, attending the opening party briefly. Moon Bloodgood was there but the Marmot was not (nyeh). There were plenty more actors, of course (like Kelly Lin), but I am more a dork for directors and producers than for actors, so missed most of the actor-heavy events.
  • I think Kim Jung-eun got the biggest response on the red carpet walk during PIFF’s opening ceremonies. I was a little surprised, as I never really considered her A-list, but people really went nuts when she showed up.
  • Also, there was so much construction going on in Haeundae, I was really surprised. Had not seen the area like that before. That neighborhood is going to be totally transformed (yet again) in a couple more years. Minus — losing the old character, and many cheaper lodgings. Plus — losing the old character and lousy lodgings, and gaining a much better selection of bars and restaurants.
  • Rumor has it that the “technical difficulties” that occurred during the outdoor screening of THE SKY CRAWLERS was actually the equipment operator forgetting to gas up the generator that powered the outdoor projector.
  • I also heard someone say that the Busan city government has told the Pusan Film Festival folks to get with the times and start spelling the festival the same way as the city. Which would make it the Busan International Film Festival, or BIFF.
  • MODERN BOY is not a good film. At all. I wanted it to be good. I hoped it would be good. It is not good. It looks wonderful — great re-creations of Seoul in the 1930s. But the story is shallow, the history puddle-deep (typical 386 generation nonsense), and the editing a mystery. Plus Kim Hye-soo is totally wrong for her role.
  • This KUNSTHALLE artist thingy looks like it could be interesting. Certainly a well made website.
  • John McCain is the shortest candidate for US president since 1920. If he won the race, he would be the shortest president since William McKinley in 1900.

    • Dance-Off Is On

    May 7, 2008 / / 0 Comments

    You’ve probably seen this somewhere around the Internet already. But just in case, here is Rain’s dance-off with Steven Colbert from Monday’s COLBERT REPORT.

    Along Came the Rain and Washed the Colbert Out…

    May 5, 2008 / / 0 Comments

    BIG NEWS: Colbert Report fan site the NO FACT ZONE is reporting that Jung Ji-hoon (aka Rain) will be appearing on this Monday’s episode (May 5). And apparently there WILL be a Dance-Off.

    But it looks like it is going to be a special dance-off. The link above has *Spoilers*, so click at your own risk. But it looks like the segment has much humor potential.

    I must admit, I am really surprised and impressed that Rain has managed to get so much traction in the West so far. Significant supporting role in SPEED RACER (which will be released in a few days, on May 7), starring in NINJA ASSASSIN, representation with William Morris and a bunch of projects in the works. He has really come a long way in the year since he left JYP Entertainment. Good for him.

    UPDATE: Oh, I just checked out Shenyue Pop and noticed that the TIME 100 poll for this year has closed. And in the great war between Rain and Stephen Colbert, the winner is … Shigeru Miyamoto? Yes, the Japanese video game designer (DONKEY KONG!) beat both Rain and Colbert. Maybe for his next trick, he can design a video game featuring Rain versus Colbert, like Spy Vs. Spy.

    ‘Night & Day’ and other Random Notes – Vol 3, No. 5

    February 3, 2008 / / 1 Comment

    So I got the chance to see Hong Sang-soo’s latest film NIGHT & DAY a few days ago. The film officially makes its world premier on Feb. 12 at the Berlin International Film Festival, but, well, there are ways…

    Of course, I am sworn to secrecy about the film. But I can say what the press kits talk about — it is the story of a middle-aged artist who flees to Paris after smoking a little pot in Korea. While in Paris he meets an ex-girlfriend, makes a new girlfriend, and smokes and drinks a lot.


    It was Hong’s longest movie so far, clocking in at 144 minutes, but it felt quite brisk and I never felt bored. Perhaps not as fun as WOMAN ON THE BEACH, but most worthwhile. I will try to write more about it after its official premier in 10 days.

  • Not that anyone asked, but here is my unofficial list of Hong Sang-soo’s best films:
    1. A Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors
    2. Woman on the Beach
    3. Night and Day
    4. Turning Gate
    5. The Day a Pig Fell in the Well
    6. The Power of Kangwon Province
    7. Woman Is the Future of Man
    8. Conte du Cinema
    I would not put too much stock in that list, though. Nos. 1 and 8 are fairly entrenched, but the rest of the list fluctuates a lot day by day.
  • After the screenings, a bunch of us went to eat and drink and noraebang (because “noraebang” should be a verb at this point). Director Hong led us in a pretty brutal drinking version of Rock, Paper, Scissors. And there was much merriment. Drinking with director Hong just after watching a Hong film (full of drinking and such), is a pretty amusing experience.
  • I cannot believe I missed this news when it broke (well, actually I can… I have been swamped with work for the last couple of weeks) — Kim Chang-ik, drummer of the great Korean rock group Sanullim, died a few days ago. Apparently there was some sort of accident in British Columbia, where he lived.

    Like Popular Gusts, I have long considered Sanullim’s second album to be one of my favorites. When you have had a couple of adult beverages too many and you are at some old bar at 2 or 3 in the morning, and that great bass line from Nae Maeum-ae Judan-eul Kkalgo comes on the bar’s stereo, it is one of my favorite feelings. I am just happy I was able to catch the band live in concert at their 30th anniversary show a couple of years ago.

  • A very sad story in the New York Times a couple of days ago about the fate of Michael Vick’s dogs. Wonderful to see that people are trying to nurse them back to health (both physical and mental). But the story of Georgia is really heartbreaking…
  • THE WIRE. I have now managed to see the first five episodes of season five of THE WIRE, and I continue to be as impressed as ever. As I believe I said before, I am especially enjoying this season because it focuses on the Baltimore Sun newspaper, which I used to read regularly in the couple of years I spent in that city.

    What makes it even better for me is that when I was breaking into journalism a few years ago, I was working at the Joongang Daily under Hal Piper, a first-rate reporter and editor who spent most of his career at the Baltimore Sun.

    Season five has been especially controversial to some (journalists, mostly) because of its portrayal of cutbacks and the modern evolution of the news room. Some people think that David Simon, the show’s creator and veteran crime reporter for The Sun, has been unduly harsh and petty about the leadership at The Sun when he was there. Others think he was spot on. There have been some great debates.

    As for Mr. Piper, he has not seen THE WIRE, but this is what he had to say about The Sun and Mr. Simon and the others:

    Yes, I knew Simon (not well), Carroll and Marimow. The latter two were my bosses in my last few years at the Sun, and I respected them a lot. I have seen what Simon says, but I think Carroll and Marimow reversed a prior decline in the quality of the Sun. When I left it in 2001 I thought it was a better paper than it had been in 10 or 15 years. Now that I am back in Baltimore, and reading the Sun again, I think it is a worse paper than I can remember in my lifetime. So, acknowledging Simon’s talent — he really was a great police reporter — I wouldn’t trust his evaluation of the paper as a whole. That said, I am dying to see the show. Some of my friends who are no longer with the paper have bit roles as reporters.

    He goes on to say: “The issue, it seems to me, is that management has made a strategic decision in favor of mediocrity (closing foreign bureaus, using mostly wire stuff for travel and book reviews, etc.).” Ouch.

    At any rate, you can read Simon’s point of view about the series and Baltimore and more in this fine story.

    • Random Notes – Vol. 2, No. 9

    September 15, 2007 / / 1 Comment
  • TAEWANGSASINGI (aka, LEGEND, aka, FOUR GUARDIAN GODS OF THE KING) is off to a solid start in Korea. In its first three episodes this week, nationwide ratings were:
    Tuesday – 20.4
    Wednesday – 26.9
    Thursday – 26.9

    In Seoul, ratings rose slightly from Wednesday to Thursday, too. Too early to know if it will be a moderate hit or a big hit (or even if people will get bored and lose interest), but it is definitely a solid start.

  • Note: Ratings are not a percentage. Shares are written as percentages, ratings are not. Ratings refer to the number of viewers and households (but damned if I can figure out the math in Korea).
  • A little late, but I just saw the Sept. 7 episode of Bill Maher’s REAL TIME. Which was capped by a very good New Rule segment that featured the Korean missionaries. Go to about 2:25 in to hear his take on the matter.

    (Actually, the Korean missionary schtick was the weakest part of this week’s New Rules, but I still think it is worth a listen).

  • Greetings to all my German visitors. Thank you for your interest. But who is this “Rin” person and why is she being so nice to me? Anyhow, it is much appreciated. Danke.
  • 14% fresh.
  • FYI:
    League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – 16%
    Alexander – 16%
    Hannibal Rising – 15%
    Underdog – 13%
    Garfield – 13%
    Dungeons & Dragons – 11%
    Catwoman – 10%
    Elektra – 10%
    Battlefield Earth – 3%
    Half Past Dead – 2%

    So I guess Shim Hyung-rae really is a Hollywood-quality director.

  • What the hey? D-WAR made its US release on Friday on 2,279 screens?! Why, for the love of god, why? That is so wrong at so many levels. Anyhow, I will mention how it did in the United States as soon as Box Office Mojo or Nikki Finke or whoever reports…

    UPDATE: Crap. D-WAR is actually making a little money. $1.5 million on Friday alone. Looks like it is a lock to become the highest grossing Korean film in the United States (not hard, since the previous record holder, SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER… AND SPRING only had about $2.3 million).

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