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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Read the rest of Dating Agency: Cyrano begins filming (453 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: conversation post, Hong Jong-hyun

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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Read the rest of Go Soo in Empire of Gold’s first shoots (273 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Go Soo, Yoon Seung-ah

[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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Read the rest of Movie Review: Jiseul (1,549 words)

© refresh_daemon for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 50 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured

Eom Ki-joon just finished up a drama—May 4 was the finale of OCN’s The Virus—and rather than taking a break he’s headed immediately back to work for more performances, this time onstage, with some time to answer questions and take interviews like this one.

Or rather, we can say he’s continuing the stage performances instead of starting, because as it turns out he’d been doing a musical concurrent with drama filming, like a crazy person. While The Virus was still ongoing, he was juggling the role with one in The Three Musketeers, which continued. Now that the drama’s over, he’s added a new musical to the roster and is busily rehearsing for Monte Cristo, which will run from June 7 through August 4.

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Read the rest of Eom Ki-joon: “I want to act for a long, long time” (1,470 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 34 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Eom Ki-joon, interviews, The Virus

What happens when you pit two rugged all-star casts against each other? It’s a survival race of the ages in Running Man as our cast faces the Law of the Jungle team for some variety fun. They’ll laugh and cry with each other through the funny and the tears, through excitement and the pain. Which cast will reign supreme in this heated battle for pride and glory?

EPISODE 145. Broadcast on May 12, 2013.

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Read the rest of Running Man: Episode 145 (2,606 words)

© gummimochi for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 47 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kang Gary, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo, Running Man, Song Ji-hyo, Yoo Jae-suk

EPISODE 438. Broadcast on May 12, 2013.

javabeans: We kick off Part 2 of our “romantic backpacking trip” with special guest Choi Kang-hee, and the captions prompt the question: What do you need with you on a backpacking trip? Tae-woong says a camera, Tae-hyun says music, and I’m hoping somebody said food and shelter.

girlfriday: Maybe they assumed it would get taken away anyway.

javabeans: Am I the only one who’s like, But is that reason to stop trying? C’mon, years of this stuff, weekend after weekend, some lazy PD’s gonna slip up someday.

girlfriday: One missed bag check later, Shi-kyung’s sitting in the corner with a mound of candy bars and Joo-won’s playing video games?

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Read the rest of 1 Night 2 Days: Episode 438 (3,253 words)

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Post tags: 1N2D, Cha Tae-hyun, featured, Joo-won, Kim Jong-min, Lee Su-geun, Sung Shi-kyung, Uhm Tae-woong, Yoo Hae-jin

Sweeping almost every award ceremony since its release last year, Gwanghae, The Man Who Became King (also titled Masquerade) was unsurprisingly a major box office success, going on to become the fourth highest grossing Korean film of all time. High box office ratings and oodles of awards (in one case, maybe too many awards) don’t always guarantee a fun viewing experience, and can sometimes have a negative effect on how an audience goes into the film after the release has come and gone. However, I’m happy to report that for the most part, Gwanghae lives up to all its considerable hype.

Starring Lee Byung-heon in his first sageuk role, Gwanghae is admittedly only the second historical film I’ve seen (the first being Bow, The Ultimate Weapon), so I was pleasantly surprised to see the subject of monarchical reign tackled so often in sageuk get the big screen treatment. There are plenty of similarities to its television counterparts, sure, but what makes Gwanghae stand out isn’t just its gorgeous visual appeal or its masterful acting—it’s the message it conveys, one which many dramas scratch the surface of but have a hard time delving into.

Why are things different here? Because we’re not dealing with a progressive king made so by birthright who just happens to be ahead of his time, but of a man from humble beginnings who suddenly finds himself the ruler of a country. (Unfortunately, unlike all our childhood fantasies, being a king or queen for a day =/= the best day ever.)

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Read the rest of Movie Review: Gwanghae, The Man Who Became King (2,229 words)

© HeadsNo2 for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 44 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Byung-heon, Ryu Seung-ryong

javabeans: Uh-oh, bad news for Joo-won, who just suffered an injury to the nose while filming an upcoming episode of 1 Night 2 Days. Apparently he was knocked unconscious mid-shoot, then taken to the emergency room while filming stopped.

girlfriday: Eeeeeep. I know we always joke about wanting the games on 1N2D to be violent, but not this kind of violent.

javabeans: Yes, like forehead-flicking and shin-kicking. Not face-disfiguring. He was reportedly playing the “king” role in a “game of pride” involving football when he hit his nose on someone else’s head and was unable to get up. He reportedly also hurt his nose while filming Level 7 Civil Servant, but I don’t think that was a big injury. Still, not the face!

girlfriday: It’s like Rule No. 1. Don’t mess with The Pretty. They violated Rule No. 1.

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Read the rest of Joo-won injured while filming 1N2D (405 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 37 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1N2D, conversation post, Joo-won, star accidents

Who could resist that face?

…and I just realized that that applies to either one in this case. But Rang’s unexpected bond with Jung-hwan is turning into one of those heart-tugging gems that never fails to make me smile. There’s something to be said about the sincerity of a child’s pure heart, and it turns Jung-hwan into putty in her hands, I swear. He may growl like a bear, but in her eyes he’s strictly of the teddy variety.

SONG OF THE DAY

Yoo Seung-woo – “Hello” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Mandate of Heaven: Episode 8 (4,006 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 31 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: featured, Im Seul-ong, Lee Dong-wook, Mandate of Heaven, Song Ji-hyo, Song Jong-ho, Yoon Jin-yi

It looks like Uhm Jung-hwa (Dancing Queen) has another box office hit on her hands with her suspense thriller Montage, which opened yesterday in second place against Hollywood blockbusters The Great Gatsby and Iron Man 3. The film stars Uhm Jung-hwa as a mother who lost her child to a kidnapper fifteen years ago, and Kim Sang-kyung (Tower, White Christmas) as the detective who failed to close the case and remains haunted by it to this day.

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Read the rest of Uhm Jung-hwa and Kim Sang-kyung’s thriller Montage (252 words)

© girlfriday for Dramabeans, 2013. | Permalink | 24 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Kim Sang-kyung, Uhm Jung-hwa