Hope everyone had pleasant holidays.

I finished 'You're beautiful' and totally enjoyed it. Although the two last episodes were a little boring, but I like the plot and the cast, although Park Shin Hye. But have to admit that she is quite adorable there.

@82 bspanda

applause! applause!

@90 Hanjanman

A job well done! Thank you! for the now talked abut link above!

@93 serendipity

Thanks for the link. It never even occurred to to me to look it up. How idle of me... There was even a speculation of it related to a boxing match!? on the day after Christmas or some sort amongst my colleagues! LOL!

And like you after the above video link, I've realized I'd watched EOF myself, possibly several episodes just for KJH like everybody else. But Alas, I don't remember much of it at all by now.

Right now, I'm sort of watching WISFC, being so jet lagged(I'm home again), can't really concentrate on it anyway. So, everything seems like a distant dream including my actual life at a moment. LOL. I'll try to take on your approach next time I'll be all together :D

The eyeliner I bought from Missha was wrong color! Who would wear gray eye liner? I usually use black or dark brown... Darn...

Can some one help me please?

Any one know the title of the book that Daniel Henneys character Henry was using to learn Korean in My Lovely Sam Soon?

I would surely appreciate it....

Thanks

Merry Christmas everyone!!

I'm rewatching YB on my local Korean station and is not happy with the subtitles or the cut scenes!! Argghh....

Anyhow, still happy that it's on.

Watching Smile, You Episode 27 and must vent: I am really disappointed in the Kangs! Especially Papa Kang! It's still early in the episode and they still have time to redeem themselves but I had to get that out.!

hello from Narita Airport in Japan! just wanted to drop in and say a quick hello during my freakin 4 hour layover before heading onto Taiwan. can't wait to get to the hotel so i can wash my face and crash before REALLY starting my vacation :) hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend!!!

@109 lovenyc52

OH, Taiwan! Everything must be delicious there. I bought Taiwanese Meifun？(米粉）　for the first time and it's delicious! for making stir fried noodles. different texture from Thai noodles. Anyway, have a great time during your stay there. I hear there are all sorts of outdoor stalls for delicious dishes. I must be hungry or something thinking only about eating... Ah, I know that's because I'm watching Jewel in the palace right now :D

I must be the only one up at this wee hour... I've already posted two comments on WISFC recap. I didn't have a heart to watch the Kiss scene at the end of EP.8. Just decided to not finish it. Anyway, no episodes next week. It must be a good thing for me.

I must be the only one up at this wee hour... I've already posted two comments on WISFC recap. I didn't have a heart to watch the Kiss scene at the end of EP.8. Just decided to not finish it. Anyway, no episodes next week. It must be a good thing for me...

Whoops, it really must be my bed time. sorry.

i was cleaning up my D drive, and guess what i found?

10 hardsubbed eps of Goong.. and some parts of Shinobi with Odagiri Joe) don't even remember when i downloaded them..

well, now im rewatching ep15 of Goong on aznv.tv :-)

Merry Post-Christmas everyone

Finished IRIS with Hubby the other night and I think he almost dislikes it as much as I do. I think I would have given up on this show at episode 4 if hubby wasn't so into it at the time. I kept hoping ep 18-20 would somehow elevate the thing out of the mud so I wouldn't feel like it was a complete waste of time after I almost fell asleep a few times during episode 17 snorefest. Its always a bad sign when there is a pivotal emotional scene and you burst out laughing instead.

Anyway for a complete change of pace I watched Whats up fox over the weekend and I have to say it was a nice kdrama but it was not as fabulous as I had hoped it would be. It started great but I think it started to go dragging around ep 8 or so. I do appreciate the more adult themes and Go Hyung Jung is a revelation. I haven't seen her since Sandglass and it is amazing how someone can be so cute, sexy, and sultry and do it all with intelligence. I'm a total fan. I would recommend this just for her performance and strong chemistry with Cheon Jeong Myeong. CJM btw reminds me of young Matthew Broderick. Even the way he walks and talks.

I'm watching What's Up Fox, too (only through episode 7 so far, so no draggy-ness yet), and must agree about the main actress. So much fun to watch her expressions change during the scenes. She was in H.I.T. too, which is on my hard disk and is now a "must watch soon". The guy I am liking is the fashionista, who reminds me of Phillip Seymore Hoffman with his devilish smile. But so nice to see the other minor characters: the mother, the publisher, the gynaecologist, all favorites from other dramas. And maybe the first didactic moment I have seen in a K drama ( J dramas almost always work them in, no matter how silly that story might be otherwise): see your gynaecologist!

Isn't it funny how we all have such wildly different opinions on some dramas? I loved IRIS, which kind of surprised me because I wasn't really going crazy every week to see each new episode. But by the end I was fully invested in the characters and cried like a baby when it was over.

I also really liked What's Up, Fox. I watched it early this year when I was still relatively new to Kdramas and thought it was just fantastic.

But right now all I've got on my mind is Damo...ockoala did not exaggerate one bit, it's wonderful. And devastating. And wonderful. :-(

Hey, it's almost Chunoary!!!

I did like Damo (though not completely loved) and I have been tempted to re-watch it again as I experience Ockoala's excitement through her posts and I'm having a little self doubt that maybe I missed something on the first go round. Don't we all relive or live anew moments from our past through a new lens?

I'm debating what to watch next Hong Gil Dong or Story of a Man. Story of a Man is probably more my taste but I'm tempted by Hong Gil Dong since its the only hong sisters drama I haven't watched yet.

BTW I recently watched the movie "The Happy Life" and I really liked it. Its not anything too deep but the performances from the veterans are rock solid and JGS was understated which was perfect for the role and the movie just made me happy. Also unlike many movies I've seen lately the simple story was just done right and straight forward which is kind of like eating a good simple meal after attending too many banquets.

@ nycgrl

I REALLY liked Story of a Man...it was brilliant. But Hong Gil Dong changed my life. Which sounds like a such a dramatic statement, I know, but when it was over I just felt so lucky and so grateful to have experienced it.

I've been meaning to watch The Happy Life on AZNV and keep putting it off, I need to do that while I'm on vacation this week. After Damo, of course!

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas or holiday break... mine was quiet, jet-lagged, and internet-free, but full of food and family. And I've been sleeping 9-10 hours a night ever since. Wonderful!

Best wishes to everyone for a peaceful, happy, and healthy 2010 (too much to ask for another YB in 2010, but let's look forward to some drama surprises). I'm gearing up to watch Chuno "with" you, a good start to the year.

@120 Samsooki... you got a SLAPCHOP?! Nice!

@ samsooki

Congrats on getting the Slapchop! Which, for anyone not hanging out with us about a dozen OT's ago, is NOT something dirty, nor is it martial arts-related (although it SHOULD be, I'm pretty sure Rain utilized the Slapchop Manoeuvre in Ninja Assassin). It's some super-duper kitchen gadget. :-D

List of completed dramas, please, for the curious?? After your nap will be fine.

@ samsooki

My life has been the same with two sets of family christmas get togethers and socials with friends hence the no show in OT since last week.

I recently purchased a new car as well and if you are looking into Audi, my girlfriend is a saleslady in CT and she is very honest and professional.

BTW the Audi Q7 which may be a good fit for a growing family in terms of size and safety and importantly, to me anyway, its diesel. We always had hybrids before but Toyota safety has been a bit shaky lately and we wanted something renewable and safe.

I'm curious what you thought about IRIS which is on my list of worst for 2009.

@samsooki

How the heck you can fit all the Christmas gatherings, 5 (5!) kdramas with Ji Hoon duties and not be a zoombie.....please please please share your secret/drug of choice! However all good deeds (shopping, laundry etc) gets rewarded - congrats on your Slapchop! Is it making you slapchop happy yet? Are all your vegetables now neatly slapchopped? :p

(btw that pic that cingdoc mentioned - which like the rest of them are so so cute - should have the caption "I TOLD you it wouldn't fit! Why are you making me wear it!!! I look like a country bumpkin! Argghhh!" Damn cute!)

I really need samsooki's secret as I am struggling to stay awake after watching a late night 3D screening of Avatar. Loved it! Another classic Cameron film - visually awesome! Sigourney Weaver really has aged well, and as soon as I saw her onscream my inner voice shouted 'Ripley!'. :)

So I was driving down a mountain tonight instead of tomorrow as planned because I obviously can't take an extra night away from dramas. I kidding, I miss my bed, I miss my house, I miss the creature comforts I take for granted. Plus my behind is so sore from skiing that I just needed to call it quits early. Thanks for a fun getaway Big Bear!

What did I miss? I arrived home and online right when the year-end reviews started, woowhee it's gonna be a heck of a fun ride for the next few days. No rush, samsooki and hjkomo, but better put the finishing touches on those babies, me want to read! ;-) I'll be patient, I promise.

So I spent the entire trip listening to Enya (I needed something soothing for the treacherous hairpin turns down the mountain in pitch black darkness), and then I switched to classic theme songs from HK TVB dramas, mostly from the 70s and 80s. All awesome, and really made me reflect back to my early drama watching days, and how far along I've come now that I've added k-dramas to my watching.

And I know Wong Kar-wai just cast Song Hye-gyo in his new movie, and I couldn't help but think back to the second golden era of HK dramas, when Andy Lau, Tony Leung et. al. got their starts on the small screen. In all my drama-watching spanning TW, J, HK, and now K-dramas, only two young actors have made me think immediately upon finishing a drama "that person is going to be a HUGE star." And both were HK stars, so I wonder what it is about the TVB system back then?

The first person is Tony Leung, in his iconic role as Wei Xia-bao in the Duke of Mount Deer, starring Andy Lau as Emperor Kang-xi, and Tony as a womanizer no-good layabout who through cunning and luck, rises up the political ranks and marries 7 women by the time he's done. It's based on the seminal novel by Louis Cha, and truly, young Tony was just perfect in that role, and after watching him, no one could ever do justice to that role again. And Andy wasn't half bad either, it was a great TVB production of that novel. And fast forward 20 years, and Tony Leung is who he is, and I've adored him since he was that sleazy scamp in that drama. Only Tony can make sleazy and shady seem so adorable and harmless.

The second person who's acting has never left my mind in over 20 years, and I still look back fondly can re-watch her seminal work, was Barbara Yung. I think maybe only cingdoc or belleza may know her. If you told me that bunch of actresses from the early 80s TVB acting farm, that Maggie and Carina Lau would become the best actresses of their HK generation, I would have laughed, because the shiningest star of that group of actresses was Barbara, who played also an iconic Louis Cha novel heroine, the whipsmart Huang-rong in The Legend of the Condor Heros. She left behind that classic drama and not much else in her oeuvre before she tragically committed suicide at 26 over a broken heart (so the press reported). At least Leslie lived to be almost 50, I tell myself, as much as I cried when he died, but Barbara was the most glorious young actress I've ever seen act.

Sigh, I mention these only as a testament to how quickly time flies, but how dramas, actors, roles, sometimes certain amazing performances and stories remain indelible memories even as time passes. Sometimes, a song or a mention, and the memories come flooding back.

I'm pretty pooped, but wanted to say hi to everyone, and I'll need to watch AC (sigh, pretty chore-ish right now), and then off to read Dahee and Thundie's sure to be awesome year-end reviews.

@ockoala
I wish I could find/watch old Tony Leung HK dramas. Your description sounds pretty awesome and how glorious it would be to see a 20 years younger Tony Leung? I watched Infernal Affairs again, initiating some more of my family over the holidays to the awesomeness...::sigh:: he is absolutely mesmerizing. You also made me very curious about Barbara Yung...but I'm guessing old HK dramas would be impossible to find...at least with English subs...

OMG! watching DJG right now. Finally Madam Han and Jang Geum discovered who they are to each other! my bosom is swelled up with emotions, tears running down on my cheeks... Sigh... feeling of a little relief. Ah, happiness! for now.

@131 Taohua

Oh! thanks for reminding me about Infernal affairs. they were recommended by my brother long time ago and somehow it slipped out of my mind. Just put them on my que on Netflix.

Which reminded me of Luck by Chance (with Konkona Sen and Farhan Akhtar with guest appearances by all the hot!? toppings), I just watched. A bit disappointed by this average Bollywood production, it was just OK(Netflix had one too many stars, I'd say) :D

@ockoala

We really are related! While I did not go to Big Bear (really I would have spent all the whole time on my butt!) I was just talking about Duke of Mount Deer (aka The Deer and the Cauldron) on Boxing Day! I so want to get my hands on the John Minford English translation.

For those who want to know what this series is here is the wiki summary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deer_and_the_Cauldron

Louis Cha really wrote novels that still marvel 40+ yrs on. While I curse that I never did learn Chinese (and a whole box of donated Louis Cha's are waiting for the day I strike 'learn chinese' off my long to do list) the adaptations are good.

To me the best were the early 80's TVB ones which was, to me, TVB's golden era*. Fond memories of our family waiting patiently once a week for episodes to be released to rent come flooding back. Truly a family viewing experience. While on viewing now they might not have the greatest of special effects (ie you could see wires and men dressed as ladies in fight scenes) and seem dated to me they still are the bomb.

(*The only non TVB adaptation that won my heart and eyeballs was the 1994 Taiwanese (w Cantonese dubbed) adaptation of The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber (倚天屠龙记). But then again I don't know Mandarin to judge the recent Mainland China adaptations which I have heard are really good too.)

Back to Tony....
Tony Leung did shine like the bright star even then. For those who only have ever experience the 'art house' (aka Wong Kar Wai) Tony, you really are missing another side of this fine actor. He played the ulitmate ...errr player as Wei Xia-bao. And yep Andy and Tony made a great team. Add Tony in Police Story from around the same time - well how could he not be loved? :)

I too remember Barbara Yung fondly. Her Huang-rong, to this day, still stands out. It was such a tragic end to her life, which was full of so much potential. I have fond memories of all the 80s TVB actors who played the Louis Cha heroes and villians (eg Tony, Andy, Felix Wong etc) to this day. As they say they don't make them like they use to. Makes me want to pull out the VCDs again.

How can I find the time with Chuno-uary nearly upon us, and a pile of kdramas to go!? Yikes!

happy holidays, OTers~! I was marathoning WKW's movies with friends and family on top of going to 2 weddings, I LOVE going to weddings. :)

@ockoala, actually the first mourning of my life was for Barbara Yung. She had a cult following even amongst HK kindergarteners back then, we all loved her religiously since our diapers days, watching Legend of Condor Heroes every single night past our bedtime, she's just so loved. I still rem when the news broke of her suicide, I was happily munching on my afternoon snack and once I heard it, I asked my nana what's happened to Barbara, and when I finally got she's gone forever, I wailed, then I called up my best friend in grade sch and we cried on the phone together, I chaincalled all my friends that day, and we collectively mourned.

I find Andy Lau most charming in his early TVB days pre Duke of Mt Deer. He was at his peak for me in Duke, but I honestly find him hammier as his fame progresses. It's like his awareness of his charisma (undeniable) is eating up his acting chops. That's y I'm a bit concerned with JGS going down the same path.

@ bspanda, me and all my friends still read Louis Cha/Jin Yung religiously, we have a nonstop msn bookclub going on where we pick what we'll reread for the nth time and go off fr there. That's how influential his works r to the 'genX' HKers.

@mookie
I really hope to one day enjoy the wonderous work of Mr Cha in all it's native Chinese glory.

Andy Lau, while I enjoy his work, is sort of like the Chinese Tom Cruise (minus the coach jumping and religion pushing). He has charisma by the bucketload, but as his fame grew he tended to play safe safe with his role selections. So it seems like he is just playing 'Andy Lau' in his roles and I find it hard to see the 'character'. But then again Tom Cruise has never sold a zillion albums or toured internationally with his concerts now has he? :)

and still on the tangent of JY/BarbaraYung/Legend of Condor Hero...

actually the recent Chinese reproductions of his works r all surprises, ranging fr shockingly great to snorefest. Yes they do all have better CGI (not nec effective) or a much larger budget... but the newer RoCH and the Duke of Deer Mt were embarrassments. Of coz I have bones to pick on RoCH as my least fav work of Mr Jin Yung (all the cringeworthy antifeministic shenanigans...yikes) but still it was surprisingly poorly acted and directed.

However it was very interesting for me to watch the 08 version of LoCH, to Ariel Lin's credit, she gave a good fight to the 'best Huang Yung' crown owned by Barbara for all these years without remotely a contest. She did not look the part, it was sheer acting powess that made her HR worked whereas Barbara had the physical resemblance working to her advantage. For a purist, all the alterations in the plot may be hard to stomach, but it worked for the overall narration and I actually welcomed them very much.

@ bspanda, you r so spot on, on your description of Andy Lau. I'm not an anti, I've met him in person several times and he never failed to swoon me to fangirl frenzy when I'm within 5 m of his existence, but then it all deflated when I saw him perform. I think it's a lack of the urge to improve in his artistry...so yes, playing it too safe. It's a double edged sword, he wont be enjoying his enormous popularity in the Chinese world without his earnestness in playing every role an 'Andy Lau'.

@Mookie
hehe this sort of seems like a MSN chat....

Speaking of the TVB 80s - it suprises, and disappoints me somewhat that Felix Wong does not have a higher profile. While he does not have the versatility of Tony or the dogged determination of Andy, his acting is solid. Honest guy vibe. Perhaps he is too solid? He sort of seems like a nice man too - like the kind of guy who would mingle with the cast and crew.

Yikes. Lots of bad tempered reactions to Dahee Fanel's review. I fled hurriedly in alarm. Took a peek again just now, and things seemed to have calmed down. But, yikes, the anonymity of the internet sure brings out the mud-slinger in some people.

@ nycgrl

Hi there! I wrote you a long post, including about Devil vs Resurrection, but I think it's gotten buried in OT #114 (post no. 307). Just thought I'd mention it, in case you missed it. Hope you don't think I'm pestering you; totally understand that you have a real life and better things to do than spend all your waking hours shooting the breeze with strangers on OT!

@ ockoala

Got to ep 9 of AC. Have to say, I think I give up for the moment. :-( I find the actors (all 3 of them) arrestingly beautiful, but the show is getting too maudlin for me.

Ah. Andy Lau in the '80s. *sigh*

@celestialorigin
Have you seen Rock On? I was kind of impressed with Farhan Akthar's debut as an actor. Thought that it was his best movie since Dil Chatha Hai. Though I still prefer him as writer-director.

@serendipity
I felt the same way last night...I thought her review was honest and she spoke her mind about the dramas she liked and didn't like. Though I had an inkling her review was going to be fairly critical since I've read her reviews before, so I was prepared (: I think the fact that her style/tone is very different from JB may have caught people off guard. But it was getting pretty heated over there...

@ bspanda and mookie

Yes, to me, the golden era of Louis Cha adaptations and wuxia dramas happened in the 80s at TVB, solely because of the stable of actors on hand. Tony and Andy being at the helm, with Felix and a few others, and we all know that for the most part, Louis Cha didn't shower his love in his female characters the way he did his men (hello, WTF happened to Huang-rong in Return of the Condor Heros? I pretend she remained as she was at the end of Legend and that's that), the men really had so much to shine.

I LOVED all of Tony's TVB dramas before his career took off and he never looked back, but he and Andy were at their absolute peak in Duke of Mount Deer aka Duke and the Cauldron (imagine Infernal Affairs but twenty years earlier, and the two men get to play against each other in scene after scene, and they start off as best friends before the ultimate end - man, that final showdown in the emperor's chamber was *wow* didn't know that Andy had it in him and Tony of course delivered).

I read a Louis Cha novel a year, at least try to, but no one to discuss with. I read the Chinese version, and honestly, he was an ahhhmazing storyteller. My favorite both novel, and TVB drama adaptation, was The Smiling Proud Wanderer with Chow Yun-fat as the titular hero. I get that his Duke and the Cauldron was his second to last work, his most complex, with the anti-hero as the hero, but honestly, only Tony's version of Wei Xia-bao has ever really gotten to the core of the character and its complexities.

I wondered if Ariel did a good job in last year's adaptation? I liked Athena's version in 1994 (Athena was Barbara-lite, well, very very lite, but still, she did alright). mookie, when Barabara died, I cried for someone I just saw on TV, too! She was luminious, when folks talk about Leslie being a star of a lifetime in the HK entertainment world, I really believe that Barbara was his counterpart in the female actors of her generation. She is less brittle than Carina, and more earthy than Maggie, with an impish sparkle that was all Barbara. In a word: I'm still sad about it.

I have all the old TVB dramas on DVD, we used to own all of them on VCR tape (along with our Robotech collection, ha ha). Going saguek like I did in just watching Damo actually throws me back to wanting to watch TVB wuxia dramas. It has less angst than k-dramas, but just as much pathos (oh, the sins of the previous generation, the struggles of the youngsters, let's all go learn kick ass wuxia skills and fight out way through the problem, m'kay?).

And young Tony Leung is spectacular! Go look for the drama if you can find it.

@ serendipity

I've given up on AC, in that I will finish it soon, but not anytime right now. I'm bored and tired of it myself. ;-)

Verdict:

Slapchop sucks. It sucks. Totally and utterly. It sucks it sucks it sucks, oh my god it sucks. Just try to cut something with it. Give it a slap. Give it two slaps. Then take thin wooden chopsticks and try to fish out all of the veggies caught in the blades. Want to chop garlic? Want to lose 2/3s of your garlic inside the Slapchop? Want to make a mess? Try putting a tomato inside the Slapchop and then you better hope you are remember to wear a bib. It's like smashing a lobster with a hammer. Worst Christmas gift since 2008 Christmas when I got a whole package of 8 Shamwows of various sizes and not a single Shamwow actually soaked up anything. Somebody told me to moisten the shamwow first with liquid. I am like, WHAT DO YOU THINK I AM TRYING TO SOAK UP? SOLIDS?

And the worst part is that the gift purchaser bought it at the store (Bed Bath & Beyond), and so did not qualify for the warranty and did not receive the free gift which might have made this gift less crappy.

Btw, I think I figured out how they made it look like it was working. They probably heat the slapchop blades and then freeze all the veggies pre-chopping so that it doesn't stick to the blades.

Slapchop? Wonder how they came up with that name. I always liked the idea of a chopper but never could get over my laziness of cleaning it.

I dread getting useless kitchen appliances that you feel bad throwing away but really they just take up space. So I have decided to pass them to the next wedding I attend. :-)

New Year is coming so I have to go and shop for hot pot ingredients. I decided to designate New Year day as Hot Pot Eating Day since this allow me an excuse to spend way too much money on one meal. Now that my daughter is 4, I might even start the red pocket tradition too.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.............

Just finished watching Ep 12 of Damo, feeling like crap cause I'm so sad and crying like a fool...decided to take a break for some chocolate and Dramabeans therapy and there's samsooki, who saved the day.

Sorry the Slapchop is so sucky my friend...but that is heelarious! :-D

samsooki

I suggest you post your SlapChop review on its website, I guarantee you'll be persona non grata.

Hubby keeps buying crap and I keep tossing it. There is nothing you can chop with a single knife and there aint nothing you can't soak up with a single rag.

Just had to share something with you guys! It's kind of gross, so beware!

Just got a call from my sister who was laughing hysterically over a thank-you note she just received from my 3-year old nephew's teacher, which said:

"Dear Mr. and Mrs ------,

Thank you so much for the gift. I really enjoy having Tristan in my class because he never fails to keep us entertained. In the lunch line yesterday, he said to me, "You know, at Christmas, I don't eat my boogers."

Hope your family has a wonderful holiday!

Sincerely,

Miss ----"

:-D