#thebatman #batman2022 #robertpattinson DC Fanbase. 4.5/5 Stars *This review contains spoilers If you come out of this movie with a dirt taste still in your mouth, it's done its job. Matt Reeves' (War For Planet Of The Apes 2017) directorial debut as the next-in-line Batman franchise came as gritty, grimy, and emotionally driven as most fans would expect. With Robert Pattinson (Tenet 2020) as the emotionally distraught Bruce Wayne trying to navigate his way through crime-filled Gotham City, this version of the caped crusader proved acceptable by most fans. While trying to uncover the city's corruption from mob bosses, government officials, and the police, Bruce Wayne meets his intriguing love interest, Selina Kyle (Zoe Kravitz). Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. The Wrap. The Batman depicts the early stages of the crime-fighting hero often times awkwardly tense in situations where other depictions of him are as smooth as can be. Pattinson does a wonderful job of creating Bruce Wayne struggling with his emotions and finding his true self throughout the film. This theme is magnified by the villain, The Riddler (Paul Dano), when he is questioned through a riddle as one of the clues. Of course, we'll have to compare this rendition of the caped crusader to its previous installments from Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight (2008). Reeves does a great job at introducing a hurting Bruce Wayne trying to find meaning and uncovering his family's involvement with Gotham City's corruption, but oftentimes the film drags on in order to do this. The introduction of characters is really well done but doesn't have the action and on-your-toes excitement The Dark Knight brought. Still, if DC decides to continue with Reeves at the helm, it does have the potential to rival Nolan's version. If the introduction of new villains the consistency of the grimy and gritty feel we get from this film stays the same, it could be the next big hit. Photo via CNET. What are your thoughts about this new installment of the caped crusader? Does it have the potential to be the next Batman franchise? Is Pattinson the best Bruce Wayne? We want to hear from you!

#travonwalker #georgiabulldogs #nfldraft2022 Defensive end, Travon Walker (Georgia), was picked first overall in the 2022 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The 6-foot 5-inch edge rusher was the first Georgia Bulldog to be picked overall since Matthew Stafford to the Detroit Lions in 2009. Post via @travonwalker Twitter. The 21-year-old Walker amassed 61 total tackles, 13 tackles for a loss, and 9.5 sacks during his career at Georgia. Walker amazed scouts at the NFL combine with an official 4.51-second 40-yard dash weighing 272 lbs. Check out your team's draft picks here! What are you looking forward to the most this NFL season? Let us know your favorite team and who you support!

#trophyroom #michaeljordan #jordan23 Marcus Jordan, son of basketball legend and fashion icon Michael Jordan, has opened a "third location" of his high-end sneaker boutique store, Trophy Room, in Orlando, Florida. Trophy Room features a wide variety of Michael Jordan sneakers and memorabilia. The company has collaborated with big names like Upper Deck and Nike to produce exclusive sneakers and merchandise. Trophy Room Grand Opening April 25, 2022. Photo via Bungalower. The very first Trophy Room boutique is located in the Jordan family home, in Chicago. The original "second" Trophy Room brick-and-mortar store was located in the Walt Disney Entertainment District in Orland and was closed after three years in May 2019. The current store is the third attempt and had a soft launch on March 26. It finally had a store grand opening last week. Marcus Jordan at Trophy Room. Via @trophyroomstore. Jordan fans will be happy to see that the legacy of "His Airness" is still alive! Check out Trophy Room here! Follow Trophy Room on Instagram @trophyroomstore! Let us know what's your favorite Jordan sneaker of all time! How has Jordan changed your life?

#viviz #kpop #kpopnews Up-and-coming K-pop girl group Viviz is set to become K-pop's first girl group to perform on Grammy's multiplatform digital performance series "Global Spin" according to the trio's agency Big Planet Made Entertainment Tuesday. Viviz. Courtesy of Kpop wiki. The prerecorded performance will showcase the trio in black hanboks (Korean traditional dress) performing at the neofuturistic design building, Dongdaemun Design Plaza or DDP, in Seoul. Viviz will be performing "BOP BOP!" from its first mini-album "Beam of Prism", released in February. Global Spin is a performance series highlighting global artists from around the world. It premiered on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, on Grammy's various platforms; YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram page, and Twitter profile. Viviz's performance will be aired on the Grammy website and various social media platforms on Wednesday at 2 a.m. in Korea. Will you be watching this performance? What other K-pop artists would you like to see on Grammy's platforms?

#koreacafe #koreancoffee #koreancatcafe There are literally Starbucks on top of another Starbucks if you walk down the wide streets of Seoul, South Korea. Everywhere you look, there seem to be cafes and coffee shops lining the streets. At one particular subway exit, you'll find four different Starbucks on each corner of the intersection! Even on the tiniest corner on a city block, a tiny coffee kiosk is seen nudged in between two larger stores. What is Korea's obsession with coffee? A Starbucks shop in Seoul, South Korea. Photo via Wikipedia. Coffee was introduced to Korea during the reign of King Gojong, who is proclaimed to be the first Korean to ever take a sip in 1896 during Russian litigation in Seoul while evading the Japanese Army. Since then, Koreans have been hooked on the caffeinated beverage. Korean mixed coffee. Photo via The Korean Times. With the introduction of Starbucks into Korea in 1999, a cultural shift began to happen. Koreans, due to the lack of space in their own personal homes, often had nowhere to meet up with friends for a quick drink and chat. Starbucks changed the cultural paradigm by creating a cozy, clean, and spacious atmosphere for Koreans young and old, a place to hang out. Partnered with 5G speed internet, Starbucks and other coffee chains became the go-to spot for many Koreans taking a quick break from shopping or hanging out with friends. Korean drama scene at a cafe. Photo via Annyeong Oppa. Korea's coffee consumption is around 6% of the total Asia Pacific coffee market and is one of the leading markets in the world. You will see custom-blended coffee shops all around Korea, each with their unique taste and make. According to the Korean Economic Institute of America, Koreans drink 12.3 cups of coffee per week! That's equivalent to 2.3 kg (about 5 lbs) per capita consumption a year! Inside look at one of Korea's trendy cafes. Photo courtesy of There She Goes Again. If you do plan on visiting Korea, be sure to check out the numerous quirky-themed cafes! Check out this awesome list of cafes by 'there she goes again'! If you've been to Korea, what cafes did you like most? What's the craziest cafe you've seen/been in? Share your pics and experiences!

#apple #iphone #notchlessdisplay Much respected Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, announced on Twitter that the "real full-screen iPhone will come in 2024". He stated that "only high-end iPhones in 2024 would adopt an under-display front camera alongside the under-display Face ID". This would mean the earliest iPhone model (iPhone 16 Pro) would be the most likely model to have this feature. Apple fans have been adamant about their full-screen preference for years since their competitor, Samsung, has touted their much smaller camera notch on the front-facing camera. Meanwhile, Apple fans will have to wait a little longer. Apple's premium image in South Korea is well on the rise as 27.73% of mobile phone owners prefer the brand. Samsung still makes up the majority of the country's mobile phone ownership at 65.21% (https://gs.statcounter.com/ As of March 2022). Apple store in South Korea. Photo via Apple. Are you excited about this news? Or are you disappointed? Are you willing to wait another two years? Share you opinion down below!

#nbaplayoffs2022 #nbaplayoffs #nbaglobal With the NBA playoffs starting this week, the game is primed to have a more global audience. The NBA has done a tremendous job marketing its brand overseas. South Korea is no exception. It has been one of the most important countries for the NBA to expand its fan base into Asia. With over 100 official NBA stores opening in South Korea, NBA merchandise is expected to increase in sales this year. You can read further here. NBA Playoff bracket courtesy of CBS Sports. With household names like Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Luka Dončić, and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the NBA is a global game indeed. You can be sure there will be quite a few Korean fans watching this year's NBA playoffs. South Korean fans at a Spurs game. Photo via NBA.com In addition to the NBA, Korean college players such as Lee Hyun Jung from Davidson Wildcats of the Atlantic 10 Conference have been touted as top NBA prospects. With social media as one of the main drivers of hyping these athletes up, the game of basketball in South Korea has high hopes. So what do you think about this year's NBA playoffs? Will you be watching? Let us know your favorite team and your predictions!

#psy #suzy #celeb International K-pop sensation Psy just dropped the MV teaser for his new single 'Celeb'. He is seen dancing with Suzy, a former member of the group Miss A. The teaser features Psy's signature jerky dance movements and Suzy's smoky sex appeal. The new single 'Celeb' is the #3 track on Psy's 9th full-length album and is scheduled to drop Friday, April 29, 2022 Korean Standard Time. Are you looking forward to Psy's new album? Let us know what you think about this teaser!

#bts #permissiontodancetour2022 #btslasvegas The global K-pop sensation group, BTS, has returned home to South Korea after almost a month in the United States for their 'Permission To Dance On Stage' tour. After two consecutive sold-out weekends in Las Vegas, Nevada, the six of the seven members - Jin, Jimin, V, J-Hope, and Suga were spotted at Incheon Airport in the early morning hours of Tuesday, April 19. Rap Monster was not spotted with the group. He reportedly is scheduled to stay longer in the U.S. BTS arriving at Incheon Airport. Photo via Yonhap News. While in the U.S., the group took part in the 64th Grammy Awards as being nominated for Pop/Duo Group Performance as well as performing their hit song 'Butter'. After the famous awards ceremony, BTS held four "Permission to Dance on Stage - Las Vegas" live concerts at Allegiant Stadium and also streamed the live performance online. Allegiant Stadium which seats 65,000 is also used for the NFL (National Football League) Las Vegas Raiders. The concert series was such a huge success that according to Big Hit Music, attracted over 624,000 people joined both the live and online streaming concerts. BTS' "Permission to Dance on Stage" concert was held in Las Vegas. Photo via The Economic Times. The "Permission to Dance on Stage" concert series was launched last October in Seoul as a live stream show before being held live in November and December in Las Angeles and again in Seoul in March 2022. BTS is poised to return to the top of music charts this summer where they announced a new album will be dropping on June 10th. The boys will be celebrating their eight year anniversary since their first album dropped on June 10, 2013. Let us know your experience as a BTS fan. Have you been to a concert? Are you excited about their new album?

#ummamoviereview #sandraohumma #moviereview 3.5/5 Stars *This review contains spoilers Umma, Korean word for mother, is a supernatural horror film about Amanda (Sandra Oh), a Korean immigrant living in on a rural American farm with her daughter, Chris. Mother and daughter live a quiet life growing a bee farm to produce honey to sell to locals, but their lives are intervened by the delivery of Amanda's late mother's remains. Haunted by her mother's hardships of adjusting to a new country, Amanda experiences visions of her mother and fights with her spirit from taking Amanda's body as her own. Amanda's paranoia is then turned to her almost-off-to-college daughter creating a rift in their mother-daughter relationship. The movie starts off with huge potential, but quickly bores viewers with it's slow storytelling. There seems to be no character development with Amanda's mother's story. We have no idea why she was tormented or why her relationship with Amanda failed other than she felt that Amanda abandoned her when she needed her daughter the most. This was a huge opportunity for writer, Iris. K. Shim, to display her storytelling skills with creating a deep mother daughter bond/relationship, that had us all wondering, "What happened between these two?". Umma felt like it ended too soon without any explanation of relationships between Amanda and her estranged Korean family. The movie felt too rushed to finish and left viewers to fill in the gaps for themselves. Umma was a great attempt in creating a Korean American horror film, but created more questions than answers. Let us know what you thought about the film! We're you anticipating it as much as we were? Let us know!

#nba #kpop #kpopfashion At first glance, KPOP and basketball have nothing in common. Well...does it? The NBA used to be just a sport, primarily a North American sport. Since the days that Allen Iverson graced the hardwood with his cornrows and baggy sweats did it make NBA culture what it is today. Nowadays, you won't be surprised to see a fashion show players put on right before the games. So how did basketball become such a global sport? Especially in South Korea? In 2011 the NBA inked a deal with South Korean fashion company MK Trend to create merchandise on behalf of the league and sell it to over 130 NBA stores in Korea. This strategy proved to be a success. If you've watched any KPOP music videos, what do you usually notice? Lots of bright vivid coloring right? The same with the clothing. Lots and lots of brightly colored clothing. Got7 via Asiachan KPOP When looking through one of these NBA stores in South Korea, you'll notice there is an assortment of styles. There are some jerseys for those really NBA fans who want to purchase their favorite player's jersey as well as for the customers who only care about fashion. You'll see many designs in these stores that are not available in typical American NBA stores. NBA Store in South Korea. Sports Business. Many brands from overseas are seen in South Korea but don't necessarily have the same products or marketing strategies as that from their home countries. Instead, they're adapting to the global fashion wave, using KPOP at the forefront to drive eyes onto their brands. Some examples would be Kodak and the NFL (National Football League). Kodak has been out of the digital camera conversation for years. The same with the NFL, not so popular in a country that thinks football is European football. So how were these brands able to find success in South Korea? By marketing through KPOP stars. A Kodak store in South Korea. NFL Store In Seoul. So what interesting global logos/brands do you think also exist in Korea but wouldn't do so well back in their home countries? Do you think using KPOP is a good move for these brands? Let us know what you think!

#jessi #제시 #kpop Korean rap goddess, Jessi, is back on YouTube's top trending music playlists with "Zoom". The 33-year-old singer, rapper, and dancer continues to churn out hit after hit, six months since her last single "Cold Blooded". Controversy over some of the song's lyrics "크게 당겨 당겨 좀 더 당겨봐 봐 기똥차지" which translates to "stretch it stretch it stretch it out, I know you like what you see" confused many English-speakers that thought it might have been an innuendo. But after asking several Koreans, the meaning just literally means zooming in and out on your phone screen, in other words, using your fingers to stretch the picture to get a better view. Photo by The Korea Herald The combination of early 2000s beat with Jessi's raspy voice along with her sudden smooth silky voice transition during the pre-chorus caught many off-guard, including myself. With her iconic confident and 'smexy' attitude, the song is undoubtedly off to her greatest, if not one of her greatest, hits. The choreography is, as always, on point and the wardrobe definitely had subtle hints of early 2000s New York hip hop vibes. The music video for "Zoom" has accumulated a little over 4.2 million views since its release on April 13, 2022, and continues to climb on all music charts. Let us know if this will be a regular on your playlist!