The Tall Man

The Tall Man (2012) - Starring Jessica Biel

The overall concept seemed simple enough.  An original story, The Tall Man chronicles the time in which a troubled town has an epidemic of missing children.  The main character, Julia (played by Jessica Biel) awakens one night to find that her child is missing.  Her adventure brings her into a world of corruption and surprises that brings the viewer through a myriad of “what the hell just happened?” thoughts.

 

The story begins in a typical fashion, showing the old, broken town.  The pick-up trucks with rust, and the diner that has regulars calling the waitress and every other patron by their first names.  But then something happens toward the midpoint of the film.  It takes an unusual turn that has you guessing from scene to scene.

Jessica Biel plays a mediocrely over-exaggerated mother type.  The other characters blend together in a watercolor of mixed clichés and monologues.  The direction of French Director Pascal Laugier is stable, but fresh.

The Tall Man takes the guessing out of the modern crime/mystery film.  I found myself guessing so much that I decided to just turn off my thoughts and follow the story.  The ending of the film does not include a 20 minute monologue summing up the reason you just watched an hour and a half of the film.  It brings all questions to clarity through hyperbole and vision.

The film ends up on its head (meant in the best way possible) when it comes to “what happens next”.  This film will bend your mind, having you sit through the credits and possibly beyond with curiosity and a thirst for more.

Stars (out of 10):  7.5

54 Hours in Hong Kong

I can see the lightning. I can hear the thunder. For all I know, my flight will be delayed for longer than just the measly hour that was bargained for at the check-in counter. The unreal aspect of Hong Kong has come and gone. The trip is over, so why is it taking so long to get back home? Talk about a jam packed vacation, this was definitely one for the books. The first morning was a rough one. With green streaming from my eyelids, i answered my phone to a wake up call from JoJo. "you're not ready are you?". She asks with a twinge in her voice. Of course, for me, it takes ten minutes to clean up, get dressed, and grab my keys. We were off quickly, stopping for the morning joe and talking about our wacky work weekend. With excitement in our steps and sleep in our minds, we were off to a quick, 2 1/2 day adventure to a land that we had only ever heard about. There was no trepidation from either of us until we reached our hostel. After locating the woman who spoke zero English, she escorted us to a room about the size of that little crammed room in Willy Wonka. A bed, a small nightstand, and a bathroom doubling as a changing room and shower. This is what we had, but it was fine considering the amount of time we actually would be spending in the room. We embarked upon our first adventure, bringing us to a nunnery in the north part of the city. With our flight delay from Shanghai, we arrived too late and were only able to view the nunnery from the outside. "On to the street market!" we cried with hesitation in our voices. Normally, one would be excited about a market that sells anything and everything. Unfortunately, the curiosity wears off when the market is practically identical to the ones that are a five minute stroll from your residence. Still, we took to the market like savage coyotes, waving our foreign accents and even heavier wallets. Gifts were bought. Food was eaten, but the overall excitement of this new place was yet to be seen. With somewhat clean linen, we gave in to our slumber, only to be awoken with a sun-filled morning. Of course there was a plan for an amusement park. Out of pure rebellion, Disneyland was not the favored choice. After exploring parts of the city such as Avenue of the Stars and Repulse Bay, it was on to Ocean Park. A wonderful merry land full of aquatic themed attractions, hair raising rides, and lots of people, this place was way more intense than originally anticipated. With bated breath, we took to the sidewalk towards the first adventure we could find. After the excitement of the coasters, bumper cars, and endless amounts of walking had worn off, we were on our way to The Peak. Oh, what a harrowing bus ride that turned out to be. Twists and turns that left me with the feeling associated with too much tequila. Finally, at the top. Let's see everything...oh no, it's really foggy. We decide to drown our sorrows in fried food and alcohol. Hello, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company (that one's for you, Ryan). Luckily, at some point during our gastro indulgence, the skies opened and the city came into full view. We raced to the overlook terrace and stared down at this mecca of thriving life and business. After taking countless pictures that will never do the view any sort of justice, we headed back to fall to the lords of slumber once again. Day 2 was not over for me, however. I began to wander. I didn't know where to, but I just knew that there was not much time to spend here, so I wanted to explore as much as I could. After finding a bar that served somewhat cheap drinks, I wandered around a bit more. No headphones, no people, just me and my thoughts. And it hit me again, for about the 200th time since embarking upon my original Asia adventure. Holy crap, am I really in Hong Kong? A slap in the face of reality. The experiences and sights that I've been a part of still boggle my mind. Day three, where is....? It's only hard to find something when you know you've seen it a million times. That point aside, we brought our bags to the airport, dropped them off for hold at an astronomical price, and set off for this cable car thing. This was not your grandfather's cable car. A 25 minute ride through the mountains, over the river, through the woods, well you know how it goes. And it drops us off inside of a cloud. A small village housing eateries, shops, a monastery, and the worls famous 100 foot tall Buddha statue. Yes! Bring on the historical part of the...wait, it was built in 1992? It was still beautiful, at least what could be seen. After the harrowing 250 steps up, the disappointment grew when we saw that the fog would be detrimental to our view of this wonderous figure. Still, we snapped our cameras out of curiosity and jubilation. So much was accomplished in the small amount of time we had in Hong Kong. Yet, I somewhat feel unaccomplished in a weird way. Well, whatever I missed will have to be made up for at some point. The trials and tribulations of my traveling career are getting fewer and far between, at least.

Springtime in Shanghai

The colors, smells, and feel of this bustling city have grown toward the better over the past few weeks. Seeing pink flowers, purple leaves,

and green grass bring about a sense of happiness and euphoria to even the most cynically negative person. Finding solace in the colors and odors of a new season brings about new people, opportunities, and fun. In just a few short weeks of the newly turned spring, I have visited lakes, new parts of the city, and countless cheap markets peddling endless amounts of watches, sunglasses, wallets, and of course, pirated DVDs.

My spring present to myself was buying a moped. I had chatted with friends about the possibility of buying a motorized bike, but the traffic patterns in Shanghai make the helix entering the Lincoln Tunnel look like a deserted highway. With great determination, I purchased my new machine, with lock, and took off on an adventure throughout the city. The swift wind flowing into my face and the somewhat fresh air felt like a wave of new emotion and freedom in my world of being an expat in a large city. Topping out at 50km (30mph), the moped

does enough for me to enjoy myself without feeling the fear of the possibility of flying through or on top of a windshield.

Spurring from a promise made to friends, one Friday night, I left work and headed to the Hongkou Football Stadium. Here, the Shanghai Shenhua (FireFall) play their football matches. They only have matches scheduled on Friday nights and Saturdays, making it difficult for me to attend a match. However, I was able to attend. After arguing with the ticket scalper about the amount of money that would be drawn from my wallet, I entered the arena. I walked through the uncoordinated line, passed through security, and took my seat for my first ever sporting event outside the USA. Before the match, everyone stood, put their hand over their heart, and to my surprise, they sang a song other than the US National Anthem. I sat taking pictures, and it was then that I noticed two things that struck me as odd. There is no food or drink sold in the stadium. Plenty of people brought

in their own food, but the stadium is strictly for observation, and not for charging an exorbitant amount of money for a measly soda. Soon, the players took the field, and the battle commenced. Cheering, I watched the combatants kick the life out of the ball. Unfortunately, the Shanghai team lost to Guangzhou 1-0. It was a hard fought battle with lots of excitement and red cards throughout.

This spring has proven to have a lot to offer, and I look forward to the rest of the spring and eventual summer. Explorations of the city and surrounding areas is something that I have not been able to do in a long while because of the weather. Now that the weather is changing, I look forward to exploring more of the mysterious and majestic city.

Heart and Seoul and Busan

It began as any other Tuesday. I woke up with a small sting of a hangover, though I had only had a few beers the night before. The dehydration in my throat was a feeling that I did not want to carry over to Korea with me when we began our journey the next morning. The start of our trip included a run to our favorite fast food burger man, Carl. Upon departure of our beef infused eating session, Haley, Mason, Bret, and I took off for a night of very little sleep, for we had to be up for the airport very, very early in the morning. A 4:30am alarm and a harrowing taxi ride later and we arrived at the airport. Upon receiving information that Bret had gone to the wrong airport for his flight to Hong Kong, we put him in a cab as we panicked and saw him drive away. Luckily, he did make his flight.

Korea is an amazing place. There are many things that are similar and many things that are different from China. Now, remember that I've only really been in Shanghai and Beijing, two of the largest cities in the world. Coming into Seoul, another large city, I knew there would be similarities. It is a vast town with a lot of history and very few skyscrapers. It seems that Seoul's real heart lies in the expansion outward and not skyward. As we climbed to the top of the N Seoul Tower, the tallest point in the city, and overlooked the sea of white buildings and rainy day clouds, we saw that we were definitely in a new place.

The next six days would be some of the most adventurous of my young life. With barely a wink of sleep each night, my friends and I would take to the streets of Korea and find adventure in truly cultural and touristy attractions. Whether it was visiting an ancient Korean village or spending a night filled with Soju shots in a traditional Korean bathhouse (jimjilbang), the things we did stretched into long days and (seemingly) short nights. From exploring an outdoor and indoor theme park filled with rides, games, and a claw machine that could not escape my fantastic game play, we found jubilation in the broad streets and lights of this magnificent city.

The four days spent in Seoul blend together like a milkshake of culture, tradition, modernism, and fun. Though it was cold and there were small bumps along the way, we managed to complete most of our itinerary. This included witnessing the workings of the famous Hooker and Homo Hills. These hills, centered in a section of town called Itaewon, are surrounded by the US military base. I saw some of my countrymen walking in their military outfits, though they seemed a bit aloof. We experienced fried chicken and beer at a Hof. These small chicken places are scattered all throughout the country and you could not throw a stone without hitting one. That, along with finding out there is a Taco Bell in the area, we definitely ate our fill that night in Korea.

Come to think of it, we ate our fill quite a bit. We ate everything from Korean Barbeque, corn dogs, hot dogs, Mexican food, Taco Bell, Fried Chicken, and Twix bars. Yes, I found Twix in Korea, and it was glorious. Moving on, eating was definitely not an issue while in Korea. Upon our arrival in Busan, the country's second largest city, we ventured to the Jagalchi Fish Market, famous for being located right on the water and known to have the freshest fish in quite a radius. It was there that I embarked on another eating adventure. I do not know why I enjoy the glory of eating randomly weird things, but there's something about it that makes me proud of myself in a strange way. We approached two old ladies in the fish market and asked for a live octopus. The one woman stuck her hand into a tub and pulled out a squirming, slimy, gray, multi-tentacled creature from the sea. I took it off her hands and, after asking Haley to record a video, put the head of the octopus into my mouth. Now, for the more fainthearted, I will not go into extraneous detail, only to say that it did not taste very good.

Our trip to Korea was planned with an itinerary. Though we knew that we would probably not get through all of what we had planned, we did make quite a dent. We explored Seoul, Busan, and other things in between. It is difficult to sum up a visit to a whole country in six days, but I believe we did a pretty good job at it. When my co-workers and I found out that we had a lot of time off for Chinese New Year, I had said outright that I wanted to visit Korea. I would have gladly gone by myself, but I am extremely happy that I had two friends to share in the experience. There may be things that I like about Korea over China and vice versa, but I would have never known if those lands had gone unexplored.

Whether it was freezing while waiting for a bridge that would never light up, staying in a sleazy motel, sleeping in a Korean sauna, or visiting the site of the Busan International Film Festival, the experiences are too many to count. It was a trip for the books, and I look forward to my second half of living in Shanghai and all the adventures that will come with it.

Wo Xi Huan Shanghai

The title is probably wrong. I'm sure I will hear about that from someone. But in my American mind it translates to "I like Shanghai". It's a true statement, though. I find myself sitting here coming up on my 5 month anniversary of moving to this cultural phenomenon known as China. I've been told many times that Shanghai is a poor representation of true Chinese culture, but for someone like me, who had never stepped foot in Asia ever before, I have found it truly mesmerizing to experience such a cultural difference in every day life. I just realized that 5 months is not half of one year, but I count it as halfway because Chinese New Year is upon us in a few days, and we have time off equiavelent to winter break in the States.

In these past few months I have met and associated myself with so many different people. Most of them have one thing in common with me, the employment of Disney, and that's pretty much it. Never would I have thought I would travel to Korea for vacation with a Brit and an Australian. I'll get to that soon. The experiences I have had here have been numerous and astounding. I'm not going to list them all here, because that would just be a list of stuff. However, I have enjoyed my first 5 months here, and though it has been cold and rainy lately, I know that the spring season is just around the corner and those fun experiences will be had again. Though my bike got stolen, but that's a different story.

In two days I begin my Chinese New Year (of course here it's just called "new year") vacation to South Korea. Much against my mother's nightmares, I will not be embarking upon the border of North Korea in any type of capacity. I will be traveling with my friends Haley and Mason (the Brit and Aussie). We have many adventures planned for the 4 days spent in Seoul and the 2 spent in Busan. I will go into further detail upon my arrival back in Shanghai. One hint, I will be trying my hand at eating live octopus.

As for Shanghai, my job is, well, a job. There are ups and downs as there are with any job in the world. Teaching is teaching, and kids are kids, no matter where they are in the world or what language they speak. But to have good friends as co-workers is never a complaint either. The city has become my home in many ways, and I find comfort in that truth. Though it will not be my home forever, I cherish the fact that it is my current home, at least for the next 7 months. I have made friends with cultured and interesting people from all over the world. We do anything and everything from visiting the Shanghai Zoo (not recommended if you like animals), to eating street food, to shopping, to watching movies on a Tuesday night. Our lives are centered mainly around our jobs which is the usual topic of conversation at a gathering. Whether it's learning that a friend lived in a cave in Sri Lanka, is fluent in Japanese, or learning that there is yet another Canadian among us, these are people that I would have never met if I didn't move here.

New Years (of the western variety) was definitely different from the normal house party situation I am accustomed to. We got dressed up, paid a lot of money, and went to a bar on the Bund overlooking the gorgeous skyline of the angelic city. Time seemed to stand still as we gobbled down our bottomless champagne and liquor. The coat check was a great idea until everyone realized there was a terrace outside. So it was cold, but that was what the alcohol was for. As I was getting ready and tying my tie, my friend Dominic looked at me and said, "dude, does it feel to you that we are going to a high school dance?" He had a point. We got dressed up, waited for the ladies we were accompanying to the party finish getting ready while we hummed the tune of "Wonderful Tonight" in our heads, and gobbled down Subway sandwiches. After about 20 minutes of unsuccessfully finding a cab, we finally did, and from that point on, New Years was quite a blur. Now, I wasn't told this directly, but apparently I danced due to quite a bit of rum and champagne. Hence, the first time the "Alex crazy dance" was implemented into the Shanghai nightlife.

After a New Years Day full of headaches and putrid smells, it was back to work. In these past few weeks I have experienced being sick for the first time, cold and rainy China weather, and a karaoke event for work where I found myself singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart", "Firework", and "Sexy Back". After that last one, I knew it was time for me to leave. Fortunately, a week after New Years Day, I got notice from my mother that she and her friend Karen are coming to visit. That was a fantastic way to wrap up the holiday season. Now for Chinese New Year. I'm excited to have a break from work, traipse around the streets of Korea, and find these two famous "hills" that I have been told about over and over again. I'm looking forward to the year of the Dragon.

Holidays Across the World

It's a strange feeling to be around so many different people that share affinity for one holiday. Thanksgiving? No. Hannukah? Yeah, right. You guessed it. Christmas. What is this obsession about a holiday that doesn't very much have a religious base anymore? I thought the word Christ was in there for a reason. But this is not a religious rant.

This is merely a recognition of how 7 billion people on this planet all find one holiday utterly stimulating. This holiday, whether Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, or Islam is no longer a day of religious celebration, but a coming together of sorts to bring families and friends to a peaceful place on this Earth.

Joyeux Noel, a 2005 film, is based on the day of Christmas Eve during World War I where a cease-fire was called, bringing together the armies of Scotland, France, and Germany. They came together to get to know their fellow men on the eve of Christmas instead of concentrating on killing each other.

So here we are, and I am sitting at my computer on the opposite side of the world. I sit here talking with Americans, Brits, Australians, and native Chinese people. During this time of year, we have one thing in common. We talk about the holidays. A fellow Jew and myself insisted on including Hannukah decorations in our classrooms. Working for a corporate American giant, we knew there would be no argument.

For me, Christmas is a time of watching 24 hours of A Christmas Story (best Christmas movie ever) and an annual tradition with my mother that I will be missing for the first time in about 15 years. That will be the hardest part. I will also miss the movie adventures with Jeff and others (after they have been doing the "family" thing). But overall, Christmas is a time for people to spend a ton of money, singers to cover the same ten songs, and all children hoping for a snowfall that will probably never come due to global warming.

The holiday season is upon us. Bring it on with shopping mall pepper spray, insane working hours, and cliche marriage proposals. Happy holidays to everyone I love. It's going to be an interesting one.

From Movies to living in China

Day 1. August 24-25, 2011

My plane from Newark to Hong Kong was delayed about two hours. I guess I found out why they put bars in airports. I met a few nice people who have traveled to China before, and they were telling me all about it. After finally getting on the plane, I was almost instantly told that I would miss my connection. Looks like I may be spending the night in Hong Kong. Oh well, another adventure for me. As for the 16 hour flight from Newark to Hong Kong, I can't really complain about the on-demand movies. I watched five movies in 6 hours. I'm sure some of my friends are wondering which movies, and without hesitation, I will list them: Limitless, Surrogates, Jonah Hex, Take Me Home Tonight, and Scream 4. Of course I have seen Scream 4 already, but you know.

Anyway, that has pretty much been my day. I shall update when I get to Shanghai, whenever that may be.

8:45pm