Aw. How cute. Ryu Seung-ryong has another movie coming out, and this time he plays Park Shin-hye’s dad in a quirky comedy about a convicted killer with the mind of a child. From cassanova to king-maker to daughter-crazy kook? This guy gets the best roles. The movie is called The Gift of Room 7, named for the harshest cell in a maximum security prison, where Dad becomes bunkmates with the baddest group of criminals around… and turns them into a bunch of cuddly ajusshis. Hee.

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Post tags: Kim Jung-tae, Oh Dal-soo, Park Shin-hye, Ryu Seung-ryong

As you know, we started out with hopes for Dream High 2 that quickly fizzled, and recaps were dropped after the first two weeks. I don’t regret that choice in the least, but I did continue watching the show out of curiosity, and now that it’s over, I’m weighing in with some overall thoughts on what worked for the show and what didn’t, and why I feel like it had what it took to make a good show but never got there.

SONG OF THE DAY

Dream High 2 OST – “Hello To Myself” [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Series Wrap-up (4,933 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, JB, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

We’re given hints at the potential conflicts of a few more characters, but as usual, what we get are crumbs. In attempting to give too many characters adequate screentime, you end up shafting everybody; it would have been vastly more effective to establish rapport with two or three kids, then work in the support crew. What we get instead is a lot of flimsy storylines, none of which have found purchase because they’ve been given no chance to connect with us.

I think there’s promise in what today’s episode gives us, but I fear it may be too little, too late.

SONG OF THE DAY

Jinwoon – “걸어온다” which Yoo-jin played in the street in yesterday’s episode.
[ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Episode 4 (4,098 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

It’s time to set up rivalries all around, but to be honest, I found myself struggling to care in this episode, though it did pick up somewhat in the latter half. Most of the hour was spent rehashing conflicts we already knew about, though the rivalry between Hae-sung and Ri-an has hints of promise and might take an interesting turn. And we do get our first glimpse at one pair’s romantic sparks, which probably saved this episode for me.

Dream High 2 isn’t faring very well in the ratings, dropping with each episode from 10 to 9 down to 7.2% with this episode. Light and Shadow led the timeslot with 16.8%, and Salaryman came in at 14.6%.

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Episode 3 (3,266 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

It feels sorta familiar, and yet totally different. That’s probably a good thing for a franchise show, because you want the brand to be recognizable, but who wants to see the same thing all over again?

That said, there are certain things Dream High 2 does differently than its predecessor which work for this season, and certain things that I think lose sight of what made the first one so endearing. Hint: It wasn’t the musical numbers (which were often great fun to watch) or the singing performance (which featured nice idol voices) or even the acting (which was great in some cases, spotty in others). It was the characters and the realness of their emotions, their connections, and their fighting spirit.

Thankfully, there are a few characters I love, and whenever the drama focuses on them and their central issues, I’m all onboard. But the show also has a tendency to flit from character to character like it’s got the attention span of a flea, and that gets in the way of establishing a solid connection. I hope this season doesn’t forget its heart, because Dream High without heart is just… one long music video.

SONG OF THE DAY

Toxic, singing what is probably titled “Dreaming” although that hasn’t been confirmed yet. This is today’s ending song and it’s apparently a version of Kim Soo-hyun’s “Dreaming” from the Season 1 soundtrack… which you totally cannot hear in the melody, but the lyrics are 99% the same. [ Download ]

Kim Soo-hyun – “Dreaming” from the Dream High 1 OST. [ Download ]

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Episode 2 (3,941 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

It’s time to Dream Higherererer with a whole new cast of characters, and a whole new universe as well. As it turns out Season 2 is no dummy – we don’t just pick up where we left off, or reboot to square one with the same narrative and a different cast. Phew. One bullet dodged.

We get a twist right off the bat that brings Kirin down a peg or twenty, and find out that the trajectory for Season 2 is to revive the place where dreams begin – it’s going to be about saving the school as much as it will be about each individual character. This time K really is for Kirin – the school itself.

[Watch the series at DramaFever]

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Read the rest of Dream High 2: Episode 1 (3,458 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, featured, first episodes, JB, Ji-yeon, Jung Jin-woon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

We’ve had teaser stills and other images, but here’s the first official poster for Dream High 2, the aspiring-idols-with-dreamin’-hearts-and-dancing-feet drama hoping to match the original series’ popularity.

Looks like Kang So-ra and idol-turned-actor Jung Jin-woon are the underdogs, if we’re going by the poster, with the top dogs looking down on them (literally). They are, from left to right, Sistar’s Hyo-rin, JB (who’s giving me some serious Taecyeon vibes), Park Seo-jun, and T-ara’s Ji-yeon.

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Read the rest of Dream High 2′s official poster released (283 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, Ji-yeon, Kang So-ra, Kim Jung-tae

Oh, MBC. I can always count on you for some awards-time whatthefuckery. Three years ago it was split Daesangs (daesang = Grand Prize), giving the same award to Kim Myung-min and Song Seung-heon and doubling awards in every category. Two years ago, there were more split awards, and last year we had the bizarre “Character Daesangs” (“Crude Language Award,” “Hot Temper Award,” and so forth).

This year, no actors were forced to share the Daesang…because it basically went to a drama instead. What the what? (Last year, Drama of the Year was a viewers’ pick award. This year it took the place of the Daesang, even if it wasn’t officially called one.)

Part of what makes MBC such a weird award in my opinion is that they never seem to know what they’re doing. If you’re going to make weird categories a thing, then stick with it — but if you’ll compare past years with each other, you’ll see that they keep changing things around. It makes them seem desperate, scrambling to appease everyone. Add to that the fact that in recent years, MBC has typically had the weakest drama performances of the three broadcast stations (remember when MBC was the Drama Kingdom?). So with weak competition, you get awards being doled out to some middling dramas, while others are overlooked entirely.

It must be noted that these awards are hardly ever based strictly on merit. They’re given out by the broadcaster, so they’re more a measure of which dramas and stars they want to thank/bribe/flatter. It’s partially a popularity contest, and partially politicking; it’s a given that the big ratings hits will rake in a lion’s share of awards. I still reserve the right to gripe about their choices.

You’ll see that this year, the broadcaster has once again introduced new categories and done away with others. They’ve gotten a lot of flak in past years for splitting awards, so this year they haven’t split many… because instead, they split award categories, which essentially achieves the same thing. Oh, MBC, always trying to please everyone and therefore pleasing no one. Maybe you’ll get a decent hit in 2012.

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Read the rest of 2011 MBC Drama Awards (1,593 words)

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Post tags: awards, Cha Seung-won, Gong Hyo-jin, Honey Lee, Hwang Jung-eum, Ji Hyun-woo, Jo Yoon-hee, Jung Bo-seok, Kim Hyun-joo, Kim Jae-won, Kim Jung-tae, Lee Bo-young, Micky Yoochun, Namgoong Min, Park Yoo-hwan, Shin Aera, Yoon Tae-young

Okay, my interest in this drama just shot straight up. I mean, I know, the singing and dancing is the reason to watch, but the best things about the original Dream High were the runaway comedic performances by the teachers. And now, my favorite ajusshi star of late, Kim Jung-tae (Can’t Lose, Girl K) has been cast as the principal in Dream High 2. Cue dancing chorus of b-boys.

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Read the rest of Kim Jung-tae joins Dream High 2 (215 words)

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Post tags: Dream High 2, Kim Jung-tae

Shin Eun-kyung (Flames of Desire) will be making a comeback to the big screen opposite one of my favorite rising stars of late, Kim Jung-tae (Can’t Lose, Miss Ripley). I say rising not because he’s new, since Kim has been a supporting actor for many a moon, but because his star is rising only now — this will be his first leading role in a major film production to date. He’s certainly played his fair share of gangsters and funnymen and patsies, and now he’s graduated to romantic leading man, which is just the best news I’ve heard in a while.

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Read the rest of Shin Eun-kyung and Kim Jung-tae star in new film (203 words)

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Post tags: Kim Jung-tae, Shin Eun-kyung