Dramabeans

Monstar: Episode 1

gummimochi — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:12:52 +0000

Simply charming. This show beats with emotion and carries delightful notes of humor that makes it a fairly easy watch despite its somewhat long premiere. It can be difficult to strike the right chord when it comes to music-centric dramas, especially with a cast of fresh faces. But cable network Mnet hit the ground running with Monstar, beating out its Friday competitors with a solid 1.6% in ratings.

It’s a show marketed towards a younger audience, but the story and characters brings a certain fondness (and heartache) for adolescence, even for those who left it behind years ago. We’ve barely scratched the surface of what lies beneath, but there’s an underlying sense of assurance that those mysteries will be revealed in due course.

SONG OF THE DAY

Yong Jun-hyung & Ha Yeon-soo – “지난 날” from the series OST. [ Download ]

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© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 20 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Ahn Nae-sang, cable programs, featured, first episodes, Ha Yeon-soo, Kang Haneul, Monstar, Yong Jun-hyung

Gu Family Book: Episode 14

girlfriday — Wed, 22 May 2013 03:18:57 +0000

It’s an episode of reveals, as practically every single character drops a bomb or gets one dropped on them. One daddy goes postal—no, make that two dads, both postal—and start wrecking lives. We’re gonna put those Father’s Day cards on hold until you guys stop killing, maiming, and/or crushing the hearts of young women who just want to date the half-human boy of her choice, okay?

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© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 202 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Gu Family Book, Lee Seung-gi, Suzy

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

Joo-won and Joo Sang-wook courted for new medical drama

girlfriday — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:04:56 +0000

New drama alert! KBS is lining up their next Monday-Tuesday drama to follow Shark — a medical drama called Green Scalpel — and the production is reportedly courting Joo-won (Gaksital) and Joo Sang-wook (Special Affairs Team TEN) to star. They’re both considering the roles and working on contract negotiations, so nothing’s final yet. If Joo-won signs on, he’ll star as a developmentally disabled young man who has the personality of a child, but the skills of a genius surgeon. So it’s Joo-won: Doogie Howser M.D.? Wait, you guys know who Doogie Howser is, right? Suddenly feeling very old…

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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

RELATED POSTS

Gu Family Book: Episode 13

girlfriday — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:22:01 +0000

There’s so much cuteness today. Plotwise, the episode itself is almost filler, because it’s a lot of fallout from the last one with a bit of setup for what’s to come. But the adorable moments just come one right after another, and after all the emotional wreckage last week, I suppose we all deserve it.

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© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 195 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Gu Family Book, Lee Seung-gi, Suzy

Han Hyo-joo chases Jung Woo-sung in The Watchers

girlfriday — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:04:39 +0000

The poster and first teaser are out for the chase action thriller The Watchers (also going by the title Cold Eyes), starring Jung Woo-sung as a mob boss on the run from the law — the super creepy Big Brother Is Watching kind of law. I’m pretty sure Jung Woo-sung is still the bad guy at the end of the day. I think. It’s hard to say with all the spying going on. Other than that, the teaser seems pretty straightforward: badassery-surveillance-chase-chase-chase.

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© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 49 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Han Hyo-joo, Jung Woo-sung, Sol Kyung-gu

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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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 41 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: conversation post, Hong Jong-hyun

Go Soo in Empire of Gold’s first shoots

javabeans — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:05:51 +0000

With a month and half left till the premiere of Empire of Gold, the SBS follow-up drama from The Chaser’s producers, the show’s right on schedule with filming having commenced this past week. These stills feature the show’s star, Go Soo, in his return to TV after three years away (his last being 2009-10 romance melo Will It Snow For Christmas?).

Go Soo plays a common man who builds up his so-called empire of gold from out of nothing, in stark contrast to the chaebol powers who form the rival line, led by Sohn Hyun-joo. His character is smart, passionate, cheerful and has everything—except money, and for that reason he endures contempt and humiliation. As he works tirelessly toward his ambitions of success and wealth, he encounters betrayal and exploitation, which gradually transform him into a cold-as-ice victor.

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Movie Review: Jiseul

refresh_daemon — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:02:52 +0000

[Everybody, please help me in welcoming reader, writer, and movie buff refresh_daemon, who is lending Dramabeans his extensive cinema knowledge and reviewing powers, which we're thrilled to have. He's starting off with the following review of Jiseul, a critically acclaimed 2012 indie film that... well, I'll let him explain. Enjoy! –javabeans]

Korean independent film Jiseul is quite the wonder. Financed in part by crowdfunding, the micro-budget film went on to grab some pretty significant awards, first at Korea’s premiere film festival, the Busan International Film Festival, and then going on to be invited to Sundance and receive its World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize, going on to claim more awards on the festival circuit. Furthermore, the film actually went on to make significant numbers at the box office, at least for an independent.

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