Girl on a train- Review

February 10, 2017February 7, 20171 Comment

Girl on a train is a psychological thriller adapted from a novel by the same name written by Paula Hawkins. On my way back from South Africa my husband watched this on the plane and told me to watch it too. He’s usually not into drama type movies but he said that it was good and that I would like it, so that’s what I did then.

I have to admit that I really liked the movie and the story telling manner of the movie. You are almost just as clueless about the events as the main protagonist.

This review might contain some spoilers

The story is about a woman (Rachel) who rides the train to and from work everyday. She sits in the same cart everyday. She started to notice a woman( Megan) on her porch who looked very happy. Megan was married and looked content in her little life. Rachel on the other hand is an alcoholic who is trying to recover from her own failed marriage. Her husband Tom, left her for another woman called Anna. One day Rachel sees Megan on her porch with another man, not her husband, and this infuriates Rachel. She feels that the Megan is throwing away her perfect life and some of her own emotions from her own failed life comes to the fore. Rachel in a drunken rage decides to go to Megan and bash her head in because of her stupidity to throw away her life. On her way home Rachel sees Megan in the street and runs after her screaming that she is a whore and Rachel blacks out. She does however wake up in her own home covered in blood leading us to believe that she killed Megan. Especially after Megan is reported as missing on the news. Since it is a first person narrative, we don’t know if she’s guilty or not until the very end.

During some scenes of the movie you really think she is guilty, since she can’t remember what happened during her blackout she herself is unsure whether or not she killed Megan. She even goes as far to befriend Megan’s husband claiming to be one of Megan’s best friends.

A story of deceit, lies and uncertainty, The Girl On The Train is a must see if you like psychological thriller.

If you’ve seen this movie or read the book, leave me a comment and tell me what you thought of it 😀

Rogue One: A Star Wars story

January 6, 2017January 6, 20172 Comments

As you know well by know, I absolutely love movies. I don’t always get time to watch new releases but when given the chance I jump at the opportunity. For the past few weeks there weren’t a lot of English movies at the Korean cinema’s and some of the movies just didn’t look interesting enough. Since we didn’t go anywhere for Christmas I went to visit my brother over the new year, and since he is a HUGE Star Wars fan, we decided to watch it with him.

Image from starwars.com

This review may contain some spoilers.

When the movie started and I saw that they were using a woman again as the main character I felt a little disappointed. My view of the previous movie ( Episode 7) is that Rey was just TOO GOOD. She had the ability to do anything she wanted without any prior training, the force was so strong in her that she almost defeated Kylo Ren, who has had lots of Jedi training I might add.

I missed the running words at the beginning of the movie that has been a characteristic of all the Star Wars movies. This left me with a bit of uncertainty of where the movie was on the Star Wars timeline. Bare in mind that I haven’t seen any of the older movies in quite some time and I couldn’t remember what the ‘Death-star’ was called in Episode 7. So I felt a little confused. I have to admit that this was only cleared up by the end of the movie. There were a stage that I thought to myself”Did they somehow save Darth Vader’s body in time?”

I really really loved the humour in the movie, it was sharp and not overly funny. Don’t you hate it when humour feels like it’s forced? I enjoyed the robot, he was very logical to the extend that it was funny. He was a very likeable character. In addition I’ve realised just how Kickass Darth Vader really is… I think I got chills when the lights went out and all you could see was his red light saber in the dark. It was AWESOME!!!

I’ve seen some discussions online related to the CGI in the movie and I honestly thought that the scene with Princess Leia was from one of the old movies. It was only later that I realised they didn’t even use Carry Fisher for the movie.

My brother also loved the movie but was a little disappointed with the end of the movie. On the other hand I think that it was a suitable ending because it just goes to show how many lives were sacrificed to get the plans that would help destroy the Death-star, this makes the rebellions need to destroy the weapon so much more important. Overall I truly liked this Star Wars movie better than The Force Awakens.

What did you think of the movie?

The Accountant – Review

October 21, 2016October 19, 2016Leave a comment

A movie about loyalty and Asperger’s.

Plot

Christian Wolff ( Ben Afleck) is an accountant for some of the most dangerous people in the world. As a Ray King(J.K Simmons), the head of the department of treasury Crime enforcement division, is preparing to retire he is adamant to find out who ‘The Accountant’ is. Christian takes on a legitimate client, who’s accounting clerk found an in discrepancy in the books amounting up to millions of dollars. As Christian uncovers the truth, the bodies start to drop.

The movie is deeper than the plot suggest. My one friend commented that the accountant is the nerdy Batman, which was pretty funny at the moment. The movie however is about a man with Asperger’s, an Autism spectrum disorder. He was raised in an Army family. His mother left him and his brother with their father when she couldn’t deal with the pressures of having a son with Autism. His father was more of a ‘no pain no gain’ kind of guy and believed that instead of creating a sensory environment for his son where he won’t have to deal with sensory overload, he believes that ‘if bright lights and loud noises bothers his son, then those are the things that needs to be increased because the world is a noisy place’. He sends his sons to various martial arts institutes to train with masters from different art forms. Therefore making him a ‘killing machines’.

The movies touches on some aspects of Asperger’s in a way I haven’t really seen in a movie, it also gives the world some information on what a person with Asperger’s goes through socially.

The movie was interesting and there were sufficient action, it also had a good story line for an action movie.

If you are interested in Asperger’s and don’t want to read psychology books about it you can always read HOUSE RULES by Jodi Picoult. She gives us a deep look into the lives of Aspies, their families and the communities they live in.

Best shopping websites to use when living in Korea

September 30, 2016September 30, 2016Leave a comment

Not all of us are lucky enough to live in one of the bigger cities of Korea. Being westerners, its often hard to get clothes in our sizes since anatomically we’re bigger than the Koreans no matter your weight. The average Korean woman’s height is between 157.4 and 160.4 cm (5 ft 2 in -5 ft 3 in) while men are around 173 cm ( 5 ft 8.5 in) . As most Native English teachers in Korea are from the US, UK, Aus and New Zealand, the average female height is around 162cm and the average male around 173-178 cm.

Being taller means that your waist and hips are also bigger. Finding pants and underwear your size can be a nightmare, and when you’re staying in Korea for more than one contract and don’t have any family visiting soon, to bring along some jeans and bra’s, then your only option might be online shopping.

I do almost all my shopping online from clothes to food and even laptops. Occasionally I go to Seoul for dresses but even in Shinsegae they only hold dresses sized 0 – 2.

Where to get what?

Gmarket

Since coming to Korea, Gmarket has been my ‘go-to’ for almost everything. Every second month I buy frozen chicken breast from here, its much cheaper per Kg than any other shop in Korea. We’ve bought a gaming laptop, which works perfectly, bicycles, chairs, tables, a microwave, a small oven and even a fog machine for Halloween. I’ve bought clothes here once or twice but because of the size difference between Koreans and Westerners most dresses are too small or too big. I have some friends that bought clothes at Gmarket and they were very happy with their purchases. You can also get shoes but the international brands are the best options since their sizes are standard. Gmarket has sellers from inside as well as outside of Korea. You can pay with your credit card or with a bank transfer.

iHerb

I have only recently discovered the advantages of iHerb. They sell anything from groceries to beauty products and weight training supplements. They deliver within a week, mostly 3-4 days, but sometimes a little more. They have cheap oats and honey ( honey is quite expensive in Korea). You also build up a credit, every time you buy something, that you can use on one of your orders later on. The only restrictions they have are on supplements. You can’t import more than 6 bottles of supplements in one order. Shipping costs are pretty cheap. You can pay with your credit card or check card. The don’t accept Korean issued check cards.

Amazon

You can also get virtually anything from Amazon. The only problems are that the shipping costs are sometimes more than the actual product and not all the companies ship to Korea. Amazon is also great for getting things like board games to keep you entertained here in Korea. You can pay with pay-pal, credit card, or even your Korean check card.

Victoria’s Secret.

For all your lingerie needs. But they also sell comfy lounge pants and UGG’s if you need any of these. The only problem here is that it can take up to 5 weeks for your items to arrive. If you’re willing to wait however you can get some pretty good deals if you buy the 5/something deals. Shipping is usually around $40-45. You can pay with your credit or check card. When using paypal, make sure that your address is set to Korea otherwise it WILL go to your home address in the US or UK

What the book

What the book is a local shop with a branch in Itaewon, Seoul. They have a wide variety of new and used English books. If you’re unable to go all the way to Itaewon you can always buy the books online. They can even order books for you that’s not in stock. You can pay with a transfer or credit card.

High Street Market

High Street Market is also located in Iteawon, Seoul. They sell a wide variety of western foods including meats and cereals from back home. They even have a selection of liqueur. You can buy from their website but when ordering foods that need to be kept cold you have to pay for the extra ice packs yourself. You can only pay by using a bank transfer.

Asos

I have read online that Asos delivers to Korea. I have ordered one dress, but still waiting for it to be delivered. If you know the quality then it is a great option but personally I don’t have any experience with this brand. I’ll let you know ASAP. Shipping was only $4 for the one garment. I’m really full of shit when it comes to quality. If something is $40 it should not look like a $10 garment. You can use your credit or check card to pay.

Nasty Gal

One of my current favourite shops. They have clothes in US sizes but the delivery takes around 4-5 weeks unless you pay for fast delivery. Pay with your credit or check card.

There are many other websites that you can use here in Korea but these are just the ones that I use and have experience with and they are therefore the ones that I recommend.

On a final note, Korea has an import restriction of 150,000 won meaning that if you order online from websites outside of Korea and your order is more than 150 000 won then you may pay import duties.

Best summer Romance Movies

July 29, 2016July 25, 2016Leave a comment

List list includes some new and old movies from the last decade. They are some of the most beautiful love stories I’ve seen. I like these because they are not immediately predictable.

Labour Day

Starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin A story about a escaped convict who approaches a single mother and her 13 year old son. He stays with them for Labour day weekend until the trains start running in order for him to hop on a train and make his escape more permanent.

The Lake House

Starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves. A movie about 2 people who live in the same house during different times. They communicate by using a magical postbox outside the Lake house. They fall and love and decide to meet each other in the future when they are both in the same time.

Me before You

Starring Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin. A story about a girl who starts to work for a family with a disabled son. He used to be able to walk , run, surf even “out Bond, James Bond” but then he was hit by a motorcycle and lost the use of all functions below his neck. It is a wonderful movie with a great plot and great acting. There are even some really interesting fashion choices.