MBC hosted its awards ceremony for the 2008 Acting Awards on December 30. Let me first reiterate that I think these end-of-year broadcast-station awards are mostly meaningless. That said, this year’s Daesangs were TOTAL WEAKSAUCE, MBC. Top honor (the “Daesang” grand prize) went to…

Oh, you mean it was split this year? Between Beethoven Virus’s much-lauded epitome of awesomeness, Kim Myung-min, and East of Eden’s overblown and overrated Song Seung-heon?? I mean, I could understand going for the sentimental vote and awarding deceased Choi Jin-shil (she got a lifetime achievement instead), but Song Seung-heon winning acting awards is in itself a joke.

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Read the rest of 2008 MBC Acting Awards (1,572 words)

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Post tags: awards, Bae Yong-joon, Beethoven Virus, Choi Jin-shil, Dennis O, East of Eden, fashion, Han Ji-hye, Han Ji-min, Jang Geun-seok, Ji Sung, Jung Il-woo, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Min-jung, Kim Myung-min, Lee Dong-gun, Lee Hana, Lee Jia, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Junki, Lee Mi-sook, Lee Yeon-hee, Moon Sori, New Heart, Seo Shin-ae, Shin Sung-rok, Song Seung-heon, The Last Scandal of My Life, Yoon Eun-hye, Yoon Jin-seo

Oh, this just gets better and better! (If by better you mean “so bad it’s good, no actually, it’s still bad.”)

Remember how just yesterday I was saying how Sohn Dam-bi, recently cast in a dance movie as her Hollywood debut, was an odd choice because she doesn’t speak good English and has no acting experience? I should have clarified.

Because Dennis O is joining her in that film, and he both speaks English and has acting experience. And yet, I still feel compelled to burst out laughing. (I meant good acting experience?) I’m inclined to cut newbies a little slack when they’re first starting out because the learning curve can be steep, but Dennis has been in several drama series by now and he’s just as bland as ever. I don’t see him as quite wooden — he’s better than wooden, but just slightly — it’s rather that acting still seems like a foreign notion to him. He bumbles along, trying really hard, but lacking any sort of nuance. It’s like a 50-foot-giant trying to play with a dog, who ends up crushing it. (The funny thing is, I still really like the guy. He seems sweet. And yeah, he’s gorgeous. He’s just not a good actor.)

He won’t be dancing in the film, though, and takes on an “important role” as Sohn Dam-bi’s “oppa.” If they mean oppa literally and are casting him as her brother, I wonder if they’re just going to gloss over the obvious fact that Sohn is full Korean and Dennis is half. And will they explain why one sibling speaks poor English and perfect Korean, while the other speaks perfect English and poor Korean?

In any case, this should be interesting. (But will it be watchable?)

Via Hankook Ilbo

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• Another wannabe actor turns wannabe Hollywood debut-er
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© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dennis O, Hollywood, Sohn Dam-bi

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 ]

RELATED POSTS

• Song Seung-heon jumps East of Eden, south of balcony
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• One more reason to watch East of Eden

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2008. | Permalink | 39 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dennis O, East of Eden

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 ]

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Read the rest of Witch Amusement: Episode 16 (Final) (3,094 words)

© javabeans for Dramabeans, 2007. | Permalink | 102 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Dennis O, episode recaps, Han Ga-in, Jae Hee, Kim Jung-hoon, so bad it's good, stuff I dig, Witch Amusement

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 ]

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Read the rest of Witch Amusement: Episode 15 (2,719 words)

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Post tags: Dennis O, episode recaps, Han Ga-in, Jae Hee, Kim Jung-hoon, so bad it's good, stuff I dig, Witch Amusement

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) [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Witch Amusement: Episode 14 (2,241 words)

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Post tags: Dennis O, episode recaps, Han Ga-in, Jae Hee, Kim Jung-hoon, so bad it's good, Witch Amusement

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 ]

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Read the rest of Witch Amusement: Episode 13 (2,588 words)

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Post tags: Dennis O, episode recaps, Han Ga-in, Jae Hee, Kim Jung-hoon, Witch Amusement