It's friday! Long Weekends ahead :) Happy Red Birthday SP!

It's 23:52 in Daejeon, where I'm at a conference, and I am in my hotel room watching some kind of talk show/game show thing on ETN(?) with Cha Seung Won from City Hall. I wish I knew what they were talking about because he's cracking everyone up.

so hows everyone liking style? i think the parts that are supposed to be funny are ridiculous and illogical but for some reason i still like it! i don't like the main actresses though. one overacts and the other one i just don't like lol i just don't like it when she comes on camera, she sticks out of the young cast cause she is obviously older than everyone else, no matter WHAT her wiki page says -_-, and you can CLEARLY tell she's had work done all over face, which might have something to do with how her expressions hardly ever change. ok, but that aside, i'm actually enjoying most of it.

RIP John Hughes...I have a "Save Ferris" t-shirt that I'll pull out and wear today in your honor.

All of the discussion in an earlier thread about the Korean remake of Itazura na Kiss (or the Taiwanese version It Started With A Kiss) made me think of an ISWAK video on YouTube that I think is just wonderful. Great song, great clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffTkKthrIBw

I have 1 week more of summer school.. *sigh.. and then my 2 week break before the Fall semester... I wanna see how many dramas I can squeeze in at that time!! =P I'll probably not get to see much cuz I'm off to Florida for a week... =)

I started "You are my destiny" yesterday, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish it.. at least anytime time soon .. I have put Queen of Seon Duk on hiatus for now.. It's like a sageuk Boys Before Flowers.. The only thing interesting I found in BBF was Lee Min Ho and in this show it's the supervillaness Mishil (Ko Hyun Jung does a phenomenal job!).. the rest is overdramatized, overbudgeted, and shoddy acting.. (sounds familiar?)

I know for a fact though that my beloved "The Sons of Sol Pharmacy" is on my must-watch-even-with-the threat-of-excess-school-work-killing-me list. Isn't Brutus/Bruce from the show adorable???? He was in "Don't Ask Me about The Past" (an awesome show - at least what I've seen of it!!!) and in the romanctic comedy "Lost and Found"... I'm going to drama stalk him from now on.. =P

I better stop rambling...
Have a good weekend everyone!! =)

i've just watched music bank at kbs and was very surprised to see that poong-ho guy from triple.. apparently, he's the new MC/host... what a multitalented cutie!

RIP John Hughes. :( I might do an 80's movie marathon this weekend. There's still so many of his films of his I haven't seen. My favorite is still Sixteen Candles, although Duckie singing Otis Redding in Pretty In Pink is high up there on my favorite scenes.

Went to the Dramafever party last night. Left after 10 minutes. I was able to drag my friend to it with me. More people than I thought would show up.

In the last open thread, I know some people asked for Buffy fanfic. I'll try to scrounge some up today and post them if you guys still want them. They are all pretty old fic, written by amazing writers back in like 1999. Old but good.

Happy Friday, everyone!

I came across the movie She's on Duty this week, with Kim Sun Ah, and fell in love with her and Gong Yoo all over again! Does anyone else find that movies tend to have extremely rushed endings or no endings at all? She's on Duty didn't have a terrible ending, but most Korean movies do... or maybe I'm just watching the wrong ones? After falling re-in-love with Gong Yoo, I re-watched Hello, My Teacher. I really really really like that drama, though the way the student/teacher relationship is portrayed is strange. The whole relationship was portrayed so casually.... I doubt anyone would have a student/teacher relationship that casual in real life. Gong Yoo and his adorable-ness made everything work out just fine, methinks! The only drama I refuse to fully watch with him in it is One Fine Day.

I'm excited to see how Playful Kiss (the K-version of It Started With a Kiss) would go, but.... I'm positive it'll be ruined. ISWAK's magic caught me and not only is the ArJoe chemistry absolutely out of this *world* but Ariel Lin was amazing in that role. The character itself was annoying, stupid, naiive, and stalkerish-to-the-extreme (the only message that I drew from this drama is stalking WORKS!) but Ariel Lin portrayed that so well. Joe Cheng was.... well, he was mehhh, but his acting, along with his hairstyle, improves as the drama goes on. I really hope that they pick a good actress to play the main role - one who isn't that pretty and one who can actually act stupid without overacting it to the extreme. It needs someone who'll completely commit to the role, and I have *no* clue who can possible play that role at the moment. Any guesses?

@7, mishane

Just curious, why did you leave after only 10 minutes?

@ 8 meh

OMG YES. Korean movies are so so so so rushed near the end, almost all that I've watched have that quality. Maybe pacing is a problem? I don't understand why.

@ 9 langdon813

I exaggerate. We left after about 20-30 minutes. We were a little bored and we didn't eat dinner yet so we were hungry. They took a long time to give out prizes and by the time I sat through it, we were kind of ready to go to the next spot. The DJ was good, and I would have stayed for more dancing, but then the performances came and . . . I wasn't sure how long it would last.

Also, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna get dragged to see the GI Joe movie tonight and I'm not looking forward to it at all. It looks so bad, not even Lee Byung Hun would make me want to watch it.

@mishane

I originally thought that every single Asian movie was like that - but then I watched a few good Taiwanese ones and one or two Japanese ones. I think that maybe the Korean entertainment industry is more used to dramas, therefore have no clue how to rap up a love-story/romance in under two hours? The only good Korean movie that I liked was My Sassy Girl.

Hi!
umm, can anyone tell me more about military duty that korean male have to fulfill? What is the age limit to serve? i read somewhere that the age limit 30? Is that true?
Because i noticed some korean male celebrity who almost 30 haven't fulfill their duty yet..
Somehow, it picked my curiousity..
Thanks 4 anyone who answer!!

@ 12 meh

I think my favorite k-movie is Oldboy.

UGH THE WORST K-MOVIE IS My Mighty Princess. It's. . .okay, who was the PD or director so I know never to watch their stuff again? I adored the movie for Shin Min Ah but it was the weirdest paced movie ever. The first half was cute and adorable and pointless and the second half was. . . a massacre. Like in the last 40 minutes they tried to slam in 50 different plot points and it. did. not. work.

Another one I remember that I didn't like was 'Almost Love'. In that one Kang Sang Wo and Kim Ha Neul teamed up again (after their first My Tutor Friend) and the storyline was cute enough to keep me interested. But then, WHAM, last 30 minutes, the tone of the movie changed drastically. Why does every Korean movie like to make the last part of the movie angsty as hell?

started to get hooked to Style. The storyline seems ridiculous and exaggerating, especially the main characters. However, Style is still attractive enough for me to keep an eye on it, hahs, contradicting myself.

looking forward to the third and fourth epi now..whew

Happy 44 years of independence, SGP!

Who heard about Hyun Bin and Song Hye Gyo dating? :)

It's the National Day long weekend for us Singaporeans (National Day falls on Sunday 9 Aug, thus Monday is a holiday as well)... Happy 44th Birthdae Singapore! =)

@molly -
arent they such a gorgeous couple?

@ 14 mishane

I KNOW, ehhhh? The first half of the movie is rom-com at its best, and then always in the second half its the angsty terminal illness or birth secrets revealed or pregnancy or murder or a random stabbing or....

It reminds me so much of the old formulaic Bollywood movies that would last 2-4 hours long. first half would be cute and sweet and then there would be a five-minute intermission. After intermission, it would seem like another director was used.... the tone of the movie would be so different. There would even be different lighting, colour, and music. From happy to sad - in just five minutes of the intermission. There would be no flow whatsoever.

I tried watching My Mighty Princess too. and went, "WTH?" in the last 30 minutes. It just didn't make sense... the coherency stopped altogether, within the first hour.

@16 Molly

I really didn't think they had that much chemistry in WW, but then... I really didn't like Song Hye Kyo's character. But they are aesthetically so cute together!

Ok so I'm a huge daily lurker here and thought I should come out from hiding! Especially since someone brought up Style. Holy crap...it may just be the worst drama I have ever seen to date. Sorry to those who like it. The acting is so over the top and Lee Jia...why is she so insane and portrayed as such a loser?
Your boyfriend says he wants to part ways and dates someone else...next logical step is to call him 500 times and then go beat the crap out of them. Right.....
I just can't subject myself to it. I have heard the GI Joe is a better waste of time..perhaps I'll see that instead. :)

I have to ask- is anyone watching Don't Ask Me About the Past, starring Kim Won Hee? I'm about 7 episodes in, and definitely liking it so far. Everytime I watch it, though, I can't help but think about how I would love Javabean's insight on some of the moments of the show lol. Anyone?

OMG!!! Almost Love was so "WTH?" w/ the last 30 mins of the movie... i don't even know how they turned it... it just happened... there's a time and a place for twists in movies, but there doesn't ALWAYS have to be a twist... especially when it doesn't even FIT!!!

i know i should know who John Hughes is... but for some reason, i can't place the name... gonna google it..

happy Friday!!! i'm doing absolutely NOTHING this weekend. it will feel SO GOOD to just sit back and relax w/ a couple of movies...

i watched Harry Potter 1-4 this week. i've never read the books or seen the movies before. and i've got to say, the movies are really good! i love how Daniel Radcliff goes from cute to HOT in 3 movies. can't wait to go home and enjoy the 5th installment of the series! and RPatz was such a cutie as Cedric Diggory!

Happy Friiiiiiday!!!

Went to eat fogo de chao (brazilian bbq) last nite and i'm still full this morning... But man o man was it good!

Finished CH earlier this week. Holy. Crap. Best. Ending. EVER. I loved the series from beginning to end and just wanted to thank you guys SO much for recommending it. The last few eps especially were this crazy insane emotional rollercoaster. i laughed and cried and everything in between. I remember starting my last City Hall stretch at ep 17 and said ok ill only watch up to 18 and save the last 2 for tomorrow... then at the end of 18 i was like..ok that's SO not gonna happen!!...and went for it! now i'm rewatching all my favorite parts (and there are so many!!)

@14 mishane - i watched Almost Love on my way to Asia like 3 years ago, before my obsession with asian dramas/movies began. I had only seen My Sassy Girl and a few Chinese movies before that. At first I was like, oh this is cute!! ...then the last 30 min hit and i was like, whoa, wtf?? pure angst. sigh.

@16 molly - ya when I heard about them dating i thought, wow that's a hot couple haha :) hope they work!!

re: Playful Kiss - totally loved ISWAK even though i know a lotta people hate it too haha. (it really is either love or hate..not much inbetween). i'm interested in seeing how they'll remake it, but i'm scared it'll be the total hot mess that BOF was...

@ 22 lb_tmi

John Hughes directed all the great 80's movies- Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Weird Science, Home Alone, the Chevy Chase Vacation movies.

You should read the books! The books are great and go into so much more details than the movie. I actually stopped watching the movies after the 3rd one, it was so disappointing compared to the richness of the story in the books.

@ 23 lovenyc52

Is fogo de chao the one where they just keep bringing by plates and plates of meat and it's like an all you can eat meat buffet?

@lb_tmi - john hughes is the guy who wrote all the brat pack movies like pretty in pink, breakfast club, sixteen candles, etc. and he produced a bunch as well. :)

RIP John Hughes. breakfast club will always be one of my favorite movies.

@25 mishane - yep.. the gauchos come by with huge skewers of meat and you pick what you want.. fogo is great - their customer service has always been top notch and they refill your sides before you even finish them so it's always hot and fresh. even their salad bar is superb. and they remember what you like. if you say no to a bunch of cuts they'll actually ask if you're waiting for something in particular and send that meat man over. :)

@ 28 lovenyc52

You are making me SO HUNGRY RIGHT NOW!

It's Friday again but at least it's pay day!
It's been a great drama week for me. Finished up The man who can't get married and started Snowman. Thanks to Dramafever I finally get to see it. As a Kim Rae Won fan I'm saddened by the prospect of 2yrs without him on screen. Sigh! Sob!
Oh well, I'll have to make do with reruns.
I also watched Why did you come to my house which left me thinking Why did I watch this drama! Can't like them all I suppose.
Lovely weather here in SoCal, hope it's the same where ever you are and have a great weekend!

@ 19 meh

I also thought Mighty Princess was a bit off with the random twists that seemed to come out of nowhere but for some reason I keep rewatching it... probably because of On Ju Wan who I thought was adorable :)

@21 ladymai

I just recently finished watching Don't Ask Me About the Past. I thought it was interesting... just because it was a bit of fresh air from all the angst driven dramas I've been watching recently... which for some reason I keep watching no matter how many tissue boxes I go through...
I was a bit disappointed with the end though... I don't know what I was expecting but it was still a bit bleh for me

Has anyone seen Hon yet? I'm so excited for it, I think I'll start it next week, when the subs come out. :)

Oh, did anyone watch the Brilliant Legacy Special? Was it any good?

@3 Im loving Style. Well what Ive seen of it so far cos ive only watched the raws, but its hilarious. It may be exaggerated and such but thats what makes me find it funny and why Im enjoying it.

One of the reasons why Im DEFINITELY sticking around right to the end no matter how the story turns out, is for Lee Yong Woo. Haha, he's super hot eyecandy even though he's not the best actor and I love how he's styled in the drama. And there's something about the way he speaks without really opening his lips that I just cant stop staring. lol
Its just a pity he's going down the gay/bisexual route. I think he makes a really cute pair with Lee Ji Ah

John Hughes lived HERE???? really? i have NO IDEA!!! since 1994 too! WOW!!!

@ lovenyc52
brazilian bbq sounds like my flava...

Just wanted to say "Hey!"

I'm unfortunately addicted to Partner, just finished Man Who Can't Get Married(which was rather good) and 9 End 2 Outs. Besides the horrible title, that show was extremely thought provoking. I don't want to use the word "love," so I'll say that I really enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone who ponders and chews on words, concepts, ideologies...etc.

Have a great weekend everyone!

There should be a John Hughes movie marathon on tv. From Breakfast Club to Uncle Buck. I wanna see all of them again.

Chicago comic-con kicks off today. I can't wait to see my loot by Sunday. That's where I get a lot of my Asian movies, including the worst Asian movie I've ever seen. It's a Japanese film which title I forget.

@16--they are cute couple. But i wonder it will last long this time, 3 or 4 mths ago i read one of her interviewed that she said " still hurt and cry when she think
about her ex and she won't look for pretty boy" and now . I am confuse about her .

Lol Binnies been taken away I wonder how upset Samsooki will be?

And here I thought we'd have our first gay K celebrity:(

@32 mishane - there was a BL special?!?! where?!?!?

Ah, finally the weekend!

I am out of watchable dramas at the moment. The Man who can't get married ended, I just fast forwarded over the last few episodes of Partners as I don't like the legal / court room topics though I like the main cast. Style: Over the top acting I can live with, but I like neither of the main actresses... and I am still undecided about Dream. I don't like horror, so Soul is out of the picture.

On the bright side there are Queen Seon Deok, I love you don't cry and, of course, Buzzer Beat. I am considering to rewatch City Hall in its entity once BON has released the last hardsubbed episode (though this is probably not good for me as CH will spoil my attitude towards all other dramas once again).

I am looking forward to ISWAK from Korea, even if it is flawed like Boys over Flowers, cause BBF was soulfood.
I remember that I was very annoyed with the female lead character Ariel Lin in ISWAK. I told myself what will a boy and later a man who is supposedly a genius talk about with such a dimwit during their entire lives together? They will never be partners but more like parent and child. Luckily, the second season gave Ariel /the character more room to show that her characters traits made up for the lack in her husband's. I liked the second season much better because of the character development! Now that I think about it , Meteor Garden II was the same: It showed real character development of the leads and they had a much better chance at a successfull partnership in the end.

Well I am going to take a look at Viikii now whether I can find something that will wet my appetite.

@langdon813
Is your father's recovery going well?

@40 AnitaLotti - BON hardsubs are out for CH ep 20. I DLed it last night and rewatched the ending this morning before work haha. It's so different watching it all in HD versus on viikii (though don't get me wrong, i love the viikii subbers for their super quick work!!) CH definately deserves a rewatch from me in HD :)

@40, AnitaLotti

My dad is doing great, thank you for asking!!

I'm in the same boat as you. I'm actually (gasp) not watching anything at the moment! I just finished Triple. The Man Who Can't Get Married, and 9 End, 2 Outs (which I will probably rave about ad nauseum throughout today's OT because I LOVE LOVE LOVED IT).

I've decided to just stick to what's available on DramaFever for the time being, so I'm considering Last Scandal of My Life and Gourmet. I'd better not rush through all of Kim Rae-won's work though...2 years is a LONG time and I think I should pace myself for the drought.

I think I'll also make a real effort to finish Really Really Like You as well, because I love Lee Min-ki so much and I've neglected him terribly lately. ;-)

Woo I love Earlimart! Thanks ;)

I think I remember javabeans being a fan of Sondre Lerche. I just watched Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell. I fell in love with the soundtrack and just had to download it. The music was put together by Sondre so almost all of the songs from the movie were composed & sung by him. There's also a bit of Regina Spektor (love!) and A Fine Frenzy (double love!). Pretty nice, low-key film from 2007. Y'all should check it out.

@ 41 lovenyc52

REALLY! Have to go download, right this instant - Thanks!

Kudos to Alodia and her team, thanks to their work I will now get the much talked about song - storyline connection!

@ 42 langdon813

Oh PLEASE PLEASE rave about 9 Ends 2 Outs. I love when people rave about it. I loved it as well. :) I mean, weren't they just adorable? So functional!! One of my favorite scenes is when they are at the breakfast table and they are so close that they don't even realize they are wearing the other ones glasses!!

Or the scene where she gets sick from the smell of ex-girlfriends shampoo and he's out in the living room talking to ex gf and he runs into the bathroom ignoring ex gf JUST so he can pull back her hair and take care of her!!

And every time they drink and they sing their special songs.

I NEED A HYUNG TAE IN MY LIFE!

I also want to finish I Really Really Like You but I'm stuck on Episode 3. It's a bit boring right now.

@langdon813

CH is downloading, so I have got some minutes to talk.

My choices of baglog drama at the moment are the DVD set Super Rookie - has anybody ever lost a word about it? - or the DVD set My Love Patzzi (I know Samsooki's opinion about that but if his wife didn't like it maybe I should think about it once again). On the other hand downloading Gourmet would be a possibility as well. Hmmm, I will ponder some more next week.

City Hall download finished, have to go to Inju now!

Have a nice weekend, all of you!

i personally liked BOF even it was a hot mess. if ISWAK is a hot mess too i think ill still like it ti some degree. hot messes are like a you-cant-help-but-enjoy-it sortof dramas.

is anyone going to watch meteor showerd [chinese remake of hana yori dango/BOF]? not sure exactly when it's coming out by im looking forward to it, ish. lol.

does anyone have any kdrama recommendationa? in running low on options.. i like romantic but comedic dramas. or anything that keeps the viewers interested. or jdramas & twdramas too.

@42 langdon813 and @45 mishane - omg 9ends 2outs.. beyond love that!!
mishane - all the scenes you mentioned i ADORED... really, from the first ep at the namsan tower when he's like 'you should have told me you needed a friend' and hugs her, I WAS HOOKED... i'm even goin to visit the tower just cuz they were there! lol.

another scene i loved was when she's at his workplace sleeping at the desk next to him and angles the mirror to see him and they flashback to when she did that in HS..

oh! and when yuna spilled the wine and she slapped her hand over his eyes hehe.

and one of my fave angsty scenes was when she's lookin for a new place and he yells at her and rips up the listings.

ok i could go on and on and list like 80 more...but it'd be a really long post lol.

@42, mishane

9E, 2O is right up there with City Hall and Coffee Prince for me. It was the most realistic depiction of friendship-turned-romance that I've ever seen. I think that bathroom scene may have been my favorite. Hyung-tae is so anxious and worried about Nan-hee, like all "Oh, why is she like this? What's wrong, what's wrong?" while the girlfriend stands there like "Excuse me, but what just happened here?"

The best part? Other than Nan-hee's typical Korean mother (I will beat you because you're not married, destroy years worth of your writing because you're not married, show up at your doorstep where you secretly live with your lifelong male best friend because you're not married, yada yada)...there are no cliches in this drama, and no real villains. There are some people who made poor choices in their past, but for the most part, they're all very human and very lovable. I'd go so far as to say that the ending could have gone a couple of different ways and I'd still have been happy with it. Which is awesome, but I don't want to give away too much, because then what would be the point of begging you guys to watch it, right?

ETA:

@49, lovenyc52

Yes! Ditto to everything you said too! When is your trip, by the way?