[In addition to Dahee's recaps, reader heejae volunteered to share her initial thoughts on the drama Painter of the Wind, and I figure the more (opinions) the merrier. For another perspective and some more detailed thoughts on the drama, please take a look at what heejae has to say. Thanks! -javabeans]

This series got off to a great start. Subtleties are a big part of this series, and so is showing-not-telling; the audience is left to infer about many things often. I may talk about it in this re-cap as though it were the next coming of television or whatnot, but I don’t intend to make those kinds of statements ^^;

In this commentary I will:

• Give commentaries/insights about this episode.
• List pro’s and con’s for anyone who might be iffy as to whether or not they’re up to watching this series.
• …as well as opinions/possible gushing *laughs*

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Lee Jung - “그댈위한 사랑” (A love for you) [ Download ]

[Read more →]

Tags: guest bloggers, Moon Geun-young, Park Jin-woo, Park Shin-yang, The Painter of Wind

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by heejae - 21 Comments →

It seems we suddenly have a ton of new dramas out, and I was starting to feel a bit lost. So here’s a brief overview of the dramas currently airing, some of which I’m following regularly and some that I haven’t committed to sticking with yet.

For the series I plan to keep watching, I’ll probably follow up with more in-depth posts, but for now I’m taking a general, overall look at the current lineup. (The two dramas pictured above, Kingdom of Wind and The Painter of Wind, are probably the two best series airing currently, but for different reasons.)

SONG OF THE DAY

Sorri - “Because of You” [ Download ]

More on the current drama scene >>

Tags: Beethoven Virus, East of Eden, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Bum, Kim Myung-min, Kingdom of Wind, Lee Jia, Lee Jin-wook, Love & Marriage, Moon Geun-young, Park Shin-yang, Song Seung-heon, Tazza, The Painter of Wind, Yoon Soyi

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by javabeans - 52 Comments →

[I’m happy to feature another review from guest blogger and kdrama watcher extraordinare, Dahee Fanel! Hope you enjoy as well. --javabeans]

Have you ever felt the urge to throw something at your T.V. screen? Something heavy, but that can still fit fairly comfortably in your hand? Something like, oh, say…A brick?

I have. Numerous times. In fact, I felt that urge just the other day, as I was watching Beethoven Virus (on my laptop though, as I unfortunately do not currently own a T.V.). Luckily, I stopped watching after about fifteen minutes, so that desire didn’t manage to overwhelm me, not quite. I really do like my laptop, after all, and I’d prefer if it didn’t get overly damaged.

But with some dramas, I manage to get hoodwinked long enough to sit through them until the bitter, bitter end. That metaphorical brick is always in my hand, mind you, scratching at my palm, but I’ve been blinded by something - an actor’s admirably well-developed abs, per se, or some lovely cinematography - and it’s that something that keeps my eyes focused. Well, focused enough, anyway.

Iljimae was a lot of things to a lot of different people. But to me, it was one of those dramas that conned me into watching it, and thus caused me an awful lot of (stomach) pain. Oh, and incidentally? I’m ready to throw that brick now.

SONG OF THE DAY

Iljimae OST - “hwa shin” by Park Hyo-shin [ Download ]

[Read more →]

Tags: Han Hyo-joo, Iljimae, Lee Junki, Lee Young-ah, Park Shi-hoo

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by Dahee_Fanel - 40 Comments →

Am loads excited about the new drama - mainly because I loved both Jang Geun Suk’s Chang Hui and Lee Jia’s Sujini, and I really want to see what they do with the plot. Nodame Cantabile aside, there aren’t that many dramas about orchestras out there. From the looks of the preview, it’s much more serious (no mushrooms growing out of people’s underwear, woe). There is competition! And rebellion! And maybe Jang Geun Suk conducting, which should be interesting.

Trailer here:

Kim Myung Min plays Kang Gun Woo, a traditionalist conductor for one of the best orchestras in the city. He’s kind of mean and is willing to do anything (i.e. push his instrumentalists beyond what they should endure) to make the music sound better. Lee Jia portrays violinist (first violin?) Du Ru Mi, who, despite being part of Kang Gun Woo’s orchestra, manages to maintain an open-minded approach to music. A policeman and amateur trumpeter of the same name — Kang Gun Woo — (with perfect pitch and talent) meets Du Ru Mi in the subway one day, and the story begins…

Of course, any respectable kdrama will have love geometry of some sort, and well, it should be kind of obvious by this point. Both men compete for Du Ru Mi. I wonder if they’ll do underground vs. formal orchestra, or if the second Kang Gun Woo will try to take the orchestra away from the first.

It cheers me to see that Lee Jia is holding the violin correctly. But then, these are professionals. If they made mistakes, it wouldn’t be the obvious ones. (Hopefully.)

Beethoven Virus begins airing September 10, 2008.

Sevenses

RELATED POSTS

• The maestro takes command
• Another star injured on the job
• Waving both his hair and the conductor’s wand
• Lee Jia trades in her shortbow for a violin bow

Tags: Beethoven Virus, Jang Geun-seok, Kim Myung-min, Lee Jia

Filed under: Drama Casting & News, Drama Reactions & Reviews by Sevenses - 14 Comments →

[Javabeans here. As I've mentioned several times in the past, I have a few issues with the otherwise charming SBS drama My Sweet Seoul, which has prevented me from enjoying the series as I probably ought. I expressed, in growing dissatisfaction, my initial disconnect with Choi Kang-hee's acting, a growing frustration with the Eun-soo character in Episode 7, and then an all-out rant after Episode 9.

I wanted to get the other side and bring a more balanced view, because god knows not everyone hates Eun-soo, otherwise this series would have no audience. So I invited Dahee Fanel, who has previously done me the honor of sharing her 2007 wrap-up review, to explain the other side. The result was an enlightening conversation, and despite the fact that I think Dahee and I pretty much disagree on most key points (LOL!), I had tons of fun debating the point with her. Hope you enjoy!]

SONG OF THE DAY

Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong - “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” (Btw, who calls oysters “er-sters”? Or pronounces after “off-ter”?) [ Download ]

Javabeans and Dahee Fanel’s point-counterpoint >>

Tags: Choi Kang-hee, guest bloggers, Lee Seon-kyun, My Sweet Seoul, ranty/ravey

Filed under: Drama Reactions & Reviews by Dahee_Fanel - 25 Comments →