I mean, that must be it, right? For a series billing itself as a multi-generational saga full of revenge, action, and intrigue, casting an acting lightweight like former model Dennis O (short for Dennis Joseph O’Neil) is a gutsy move that must be the result of an excess of confidence, or optimism, or something.

Then again, main star Song Seung-heon ain’t such a noted thespian either; maybe MBC’s counting on the female viewership to be so dazzled by the confluence of male beauty that they’ll forget to notice their acting. Or, perhaps they’re counting on their strong female lineup (Lee Mi-sook, Lee Da-hae, Han Ji-hye, and Lee Yeon-hee) to shoulder that burden, along with the supporting cast (Yeon Jung-hoon, Yoo Dong-geun, Jo Min-ki). By the way, I don’t know how a drama can have so much money poured into it and such an otherwise all-star cast and yet seem so dull and trite to me. Not one speck of interest.

I don’t hate Dennis O; I’m just a drama fan who’d rather have valuable airtime given to people who are good at their job. He seems like a nice guy who fell into a career for which he is not suited purely because of his looks. More power to him for taking advantage of the Korean obsession for the half-Caucasian members of their fold. Does that mean he shouldn’t be judged by the same professional standards that “serious” actors are held to? Oh hell naw. Especially since you can’t call him an inexperienced noob anymore, with a bevy of ads and CFs and two drama series under his belt (Sweet Spy, Witch Amusement; I tried to be nice in his Witch days but in the end I was forced to admit I’d been overly optimistic).

I mean, I understand that the man is beautiful — sure, without question. But can he act? Not really so much.

The character he takes on in the drama is a (multi)millionaire casino heir, shedding Dennis’ heretofore sweet image in exchange for a “tough” one instead. (Maybe he ought to take the Keanu route to success and speak as little as possible, limiting himself to fierce glowering, fight scenes, and action struts.) East of Eden follows current Monday-Tuesday drama When Night Comes on MBC and is set for an August premiere.

Via Hankyung

SONG OF THE DAY

BellaMafia - “널 기도해” (you pray) [ Download ]

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Filed under: Drama Casting & News by javabeans - 32 Comments →

Ahh, Witch Amusement. How you’ve amused me so. Despite your repeated shenanigans (or maybe because of them), I’ve enjoyed watching you, all 16 episodes. You gave me so much to laugh about (and more to laugh AT, but who’s differentiating? Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.).

And now, we say adieu.

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

K.Will - “You” [ zShare download ]

For better or for worse, the FINAL EPISODE summary! >>

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I was mildly concerned that in its last week, Witch Amusement would for no reason regain its sanity and fall into a sudden abyss of logical, comprehensible blandness. Having seen Episode 15, I laugh at my naivete. I worried for nothing. All is well in the land of entertaining crazy. I loved this insane, silly episode because it made me laugh. Who cares if most of it was the inappropriate kind?

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Blue Sorbet - “그남자가 자꾸…” (That man keeps on…) [ zShare download ]

Episode 15 Summary >>

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It’s official. Witch Amusement has lost its mind.

The good news: at least the crazy is the entertaining kind. I think I’ve figured out what must’ve happened: some nutjob anti-fan of Han Ga In / Dennis O / Bin / Kim Jung Hoon sneaked on set, dropped a bunch of crazy pills into the punch bowl, and everyone drank the Kool-Aid. It started gradually, unnoticeably, finally culminating in the schizophrenia of this episode. Yup. That’s got to be it.

There was a time I tried to divvy out these caps to include everyone and not just Jae Hee, but they’ve all become much less interesting. Jae Hee is by far the most compelling thing in this series. So why fight it?

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Byul - “세상의 반” (Half the world) [ zShare download ]

WITCH AMUSEMENT Episode 14 >>

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This episode was both fun and all sorts of ridiculous. It was also genuinely and unintentionally funny. And ridiculous.

On the distinctive plus-side, Jae Hee and Dennis O both looked particularly hot, to be shamefully superficial for a moment. You’ve gotta hand it to these producers — they know their audience. On the down-side, the acting was… wow, really some awful stuff here, all across the board. At least it was funny-bad, and not just painful-bad. And have I mentioned it was ridiculous?

(Random) SONG OF THE DAY

Lyn - “Kissing U” [ zShare download ]

WITCH AMUSMENT Episode 13 >>

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Ah, my Witch Amusement is back on track! (Ish.) Granted, by now I know the show isn’t what I’d hoped it would be, but this was a much more enjoyable episode than some recent ones have been. If only they could have compressed the last six episodes into two.

WITCH AMUSEMENT Episode 12 >>

Filed under: Drama Recaps by javabeans - 28 Comments →