More Like, "From Paris with Stilted Dialogue and Incomprehensible Plot"

We went downtown for some brunch (bagels and ye ole Dunkin' Donuts) and a movie today.  We had a good time walking around in the warm air (a few pictures to follow), but our movie choice wasn't nearly as enjoyable.  We saw From Paris With Love with John Travolta.  Warning:  there are some moderate spoilers in my complaints below.

I can't recommend this movie for any reason.  The plot is nonsensical (a Chinese coke ring somehow leads to a Pakistani terrorism ring who brainwash a non-Pakistani French girl into being a suicide bomber).  The two main characters, Wax (Travolta) and James (Rhys Meyers) are static action movie stereotypes.  All of the interesting subplot and character development happens off screen (in the characters' unexplored backstories) leaving the film witless and boring.

Before subjecting ourselves to yet another terrible movie, we made a day of it walking through the alleyways downtown.

Party shot.  It's tradition.

Drinking this shop's smoothies will make you beautiful.

I don't think there's a Korean apartment in existence that's big enough for this.

There's a photo studio across from the Home Mart downtown.  Actually, there are a lot of studios in that area.  Many of them have albums outside for people to flip through to see the photographer's work.  This shop in particular seems to specialize in baby portraits.  We first came across the unbelievably awkward photo within our first couple of months here, but we never had a camera on us.  Today, we did.  Remember, this is out on the street, used as advertisement for the studio.

I added the black bar, obviously.  If it were my kid, I wouldn't want their nudey pictures on the internet.  But, just to clarify, I don't take issue with children being naked.  Kids dig running around with bare butts.  The fact that the photographer and the kid's parents looked at this photo (which easily could have been laughed off and tossed aside) and thought that it was appropriate to display bugs me.  It makes me feel like they purposefully posed him that way.  It's just a bit exploitative.  I mean, could the kid sign off on it?  Obviously not.  The black bar might make it even more awkward, actually.  But, the pose definitely seals the deal.

Well, on that note.  Good night!