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SBS airs short crime drama Case Number 113

javabeans — Sat, 25 May 2013 19:22:09 +0000

We haven’t had too many mini-dramas airing lately, but SBS has a two-episoder on the books for this week, a legal thriller titled Case Number 113, which stars Kim Min-seo (Level 7 Civil Servant, The Moon That Embraces the Sun) and Ki Tae-young (To the Beautiful You, Creating Destiny). The production hasn’t released any stills of her, but we’ve got a few of Ki Tae-young sporting unruly hair and a five-o’-clock shadow, which as we know is dramaland shorthand for “grizzled cop.”

Case Number 113 tells the story of a dogged prosecutor (her) and detective (him) who form an “odd partnership” to investigate the case of a murder with no corpse. Okay, I’ll ask the obvious question: But how do you know it’s a murder without a corpse?

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Mandate of Heaven: Episode 10

javabeans — Sat, 25 May 2013 03:56:11 +0000

It’s a particularly good episode for Jung-hwan, which is a treat since he was already smart and sexy to start with—upping the intensity on both makes me a happy camper. There’s something about these kinds of upright, passionate, yet antagonistic characters that makes for a richer character conflict, in the way that Prosecutor was such a fantastic foil for City Hunter. You can’t blame the guy for upholding the law, even as you wish he’d bend it a little for our good guys, but the very fact that he refuses to bend is what makes him so great. And then you get them both on the same team and make everything even awesomer. We’re not completely there yet for Won and Jung-hwan, but I love watching the process unfold—it makes for a fun sort of anticipation.

SONG OF THE DAY

Nemesis – “애원” (Plea) [ Download ]

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

Open Thread #292

javabeans — Fri, 24 May 2013 13:11:19 +0000

Lee Min-ho – “조각 (Pieces Of Love)” Here I was, all prepared to dismiss Lee Min-ho’s recording venture as an unnecessary vanity project—a drama tie-in recording is one thing, but an actual album is another. But you know, I don’t hate it. I even like (half of) it. Okay, it still isn’t necessary or NOT a vanity project, but somebody got some pretty good producers and worked in a rock-style balladry that suits his voice. Which further confirms my hunch that Lee Min-ho, if nothing else, is managed super well. (Though who are we kidding, he is many things else.) [ Download ]

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Mandate of Heaven: Episode 9

javabeans — Fri, 24 May 2013 03:20:41 +0000

Chess pieces move around, power shifts, and Team Hero makes significant strides as well as suffering pretty big blows. It’s a great day for our sidekicks as well, who step up in big ways to make their contributions and have me eagerly anticipating more to come in the next episode. I hadn’t expected some of the side characters to play as big a role as they have, but it’s a pleasant surprise since it feels like the world is a fully populated place with all sorts of people, not just pawns to be arranged around our hero.

SONG OF THE DAY

XIA (Junsu) – “바보가슴” (Foolish Heart) from the Mandate of Heaven OST [ Download ]

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Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

Basketball period drama to air on tvN

javabeans — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:44:47 +0000

Wait, there’s a drama coming up from tvN about basketball, and that’s in addition to the potentially-basketball-themed follow-up to Answer Me, 1997? We’ve seen numerous cases of parallel development of certain conceits in dramaland (time travel shows, fashion shows, sports shows), but those aren’t usually from the same channel.

Okay, so it turns out this basketball drama is going to bear absolutely no resemblance to that other one, in that it begins during the years of the Japanese Occupation, includes the winning of independence, and goes up through the division of the two Koreas. Not exactly the image that springs to mind when you hear the words “basketball drama.” Titled Basketball (spelled in hangul in a quirky old way), the story follows young men who struggle to find a bright spot in the darkness of their times, and basketball becomes their “lamplight.”

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Lee Ki-woo plays dad in movie Bean Sprout

javabeans — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:08:12 +0000

With his drama now over (OCN’s The Virus), Lee Ki-woo is heading to the big screen for a new movie titled Bean Sprout, which is described as centering around a “warm fatherly love” story. Okay, you got me; these daddy-daughter bonding stories always tug those heartstrings just so.

In the movie, Lee Ki-woo plays a children’s book writer who loses his beloved wife and finds himself a single father to his daughter. Though he’s devastated by the loss and “feels like the world has ended,” he has to rally and find a way to survive for the sake of his little girl.

It sounds like a sweetly emotional human drama, and he’ll be making a 180 degree turn from his most recent role playing a genius scientist in The Virus. I do think Lee Ki-woo could use a push in venturing deeper into emotional roles, because it feels like he often holds back or resists stepping fully into the moment (though some of the blame rests in the projects themselves; I’ve seen him in a fair share of mediocre projects). That kind of acting is fine when he can get by on his charm (see: Flower Boy Ramyun Shop), but I’d love to see him getting more real and present as an actor. Not that charm is bad. Charm is good. Charm gave us sexy panda and sturdy Pillar. Just, you know, growth is good.

Bean Sprout will begin filming in June.

Via Mk.co.kr

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You’re the Best, Lee Soon-shin: Episodes 21-22

javabeans — Thu, 23 May 2013 03:02:31 +0000

I’m happy to report that the upswing continues; I’m hopeful that this momentum will carry through for the foreseeable future. With more people finding out secrets, we get more action and development up in this joint, shaking it free of that slow bout of sitting and moping we had for a while. Plus, Jun-ho has some uphill climbing to do to get himself out of his mess—though the incline is so steep it’s more like digging out of one’s self-made grave—and that’s always fun to watch. I’m not a sadist, I swear. He’s just so bumblingly bad at groveling.

SONG OF THE DAY

Kim Tae-woo – “LOVEcoaster” [ Download ]

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Post tags: featured, IU, Jo Jung-seok, Lee Mi-sook, Sohn Tae-young, Yoo Inna, You're the Best Lee Soon-shin

Jang Hyuk goes variety for Real Men

javabeans — Tue, 21 May 2013 21:44:58 +0000

Jang Hyuk (IRIS 2) is the newest star to expand his repertoire with variety, and has announced he will be joining the cast of Sunday variety program Real Men, which basically drops its members into army boot camp and makes them suffer for our entertainment. Current cast members include Ryu Soo-young (Ojakkyo Brothers, Kim Su-ro (A Gentleman’s Dignity), and comedian-MC Seo Kyung-seok, while MBLAQ’s Mir is leaving the show to return to his idol duties.

The program is described as a “real army project” and sticks its stars into the army for six days, five nights, and shoots them documentary-style. It’s still very new, having premiered in April, but it’s been met with positive response, largely because the suffering is real and the participants really are getting their butts kicked by drill sergeants. (And as we know, scripted suffering is fun for nobody. Ahem.)

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Post tags: Jang Hyuk, Park Hyung-shik, variety shows

Park Ha-sun joins cast of Two Weeks

javabeans — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:11:30 +0000

The cast is shaping up nicely for Two Weeks, the upcoming MBC thriller that has just added Park Ha-sun (High Kick 3) to its cast. The drama stars Lee Jun-ki (Arang and the Magistrate) as its wrongfully accused hero out to clear his name, while Kim So-yeon (IRIS, Athena) plays the prosecutor who thinks he’s guilty.

Park Ha-sun will play the first love Lee Jun-ki can’t forget—is there any other kind in dramaland? And yet, she was the one who raised his daughter alone for eight years. Though we aren’t given the details I’m expecting some extenuating circumstances to account for this, since he didn’t know about his daughter’s existence all that while. So not quite a deadbeat dad, or at least not intentionally. Once he finds out that she has leukemia, he and Park Ha-sun embark on a race against the clock to save the girl’s life, while he also dodges killers and prosecutors and unjust accusations. Sounds fast-moving and tense.

I love Park Ha-sun so this is a welcome addition, and while most “hero’s bygone first love” characters are good for a short stint and then fade into the backdrop, I think we can expect a bit more involvement here since she’ll be helping to save the girl. There’s a great dichotomy to Park’s acting that makes her great for this kind of role, since she possesses a gentle, nurturing outer image while still being able to convey a steeliness underneath. Park explained her decision to take the drama, saying, “When I first read the synopsis, the character touched my heart. She’s a character with a lot of pain, and I want to make viewers able to relate to that.”

Two Weeks, which comes from the writer of 49 Days and Prosecutor Princess, airs on Wednesdays and Thursdays beginning in August.

Via My Daily

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Dating Agency: Cyrano begins filming

javabeans — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:13:00 +0000

javabeans: Why is Dating Agency; Cyrano, they of the nonsensical semicolon, so reluctant to give us proper stills? I hate the tiny breadcrumbs they’re handing us, because there’s only so much gratification I can glean out of this set of stills.

girlfriday: Seriously, I don’t get the trickle promo plan. But at least it’s Hong Jong-hyun stills this time?

javabeans: And he’s on a motorcycle, which is shorthand for badass. Which should be a change of pace from his adorably robotic roles in Jeon Woo-chi and Vampire Idol.

girlfriday: I luff that robo-genius character of his.

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Post tags: conversation post, Hong Jong-hyun