Lord of the Rings. Coffee Prince. Nothing in common except hotness

[dangermousie]

I have worked out a watching schedule for the next few weeks, so just a heads up of what I’ll likely be blabbing about on my LJ.

In the early mornings it’s going to be drama time (I am giving up on Sweet 18 but I picked up Coffee Prince and Time Between Dog and Wolf just started airing, so my roster is as busy as ever). In the evenings, I am going to do my rewatch of Lord of the Rings (starting tonight, actually), continue with Farscape and do a Robin of Sherwood rewatch and continue with Blood +.

So there you go, men with weapons dominate :D I might do a Doctor Who first season rewatch in there as well.

And speaking of Lord of the Rings. God, how I love those movies. If I had to pick a favorite movie, LOTR Trilogy would be it. I adored the books as a child to a scary degree and never thought anything could live up to the breathless, hypersaturated way I felt when I read them at 12: the heroism, and the scares, and the world so vast and different. From the first moments of The Fellowship of the Ring in the theater, however, I was gone. It was the same. It’s as if Jackson & Co. pulled my half-dreamed images out of my head: the beauty and the danger and adventures that hurt.

Aragorn is probably my favorite movie character ever (one of my favorite book characters as well). Mainly because he is heroic but oh so very human. The ‘derring do’ in LOTR really is not: you get the sense of how dangerous it is, how exhausting, how desperate. Aragorn’s heroism comes out in the blood on his face or dirt under his fingernails, in the fact that he is exhausted, sometimes unsure, and sometimes devastated at loss, and that it all is costing him, that there is effort, a great deal, and yet he keeps going because he must. Because there is no one else. That is true for all the characters, though. Their trip is not ‘fun, oooh, see special effects, adrenaline rush.’ You get how dangerous and uncomfortable and not-fun-to-be-in it is. And that is why it all works so brilliantly.

And no matter how many times I see it, Boromir’s death (and Merry and Pippin confronted with a great loss for the first time, and Aragorn kissing him on his forehead, and wearing his greaves for the rest of the movies) makes me sob. I love how in the movies, Boromir-I-don’t-care-about-him-in-the-book becomes this tragic, good man I care for desperately. Just as it’s a fact that every time I see Elves die it strikes me as a basic wrongness, or when I see Frodo crawl up Mount Doom, I get shivers.

So, imagine my unbelievable glee when I found the below. The best mv ever. Mind you, if you are a non-Russian speaker, this is just a nice, maybe a little random, LOTR mv. But I am a Russian speaker. And the song (‘The Ballad on Struggle/Bookish Children’ by Vladimir Vysotsky) is one which, if I was pressed for answer, I would pick as my favorite song in the whole world. More, the lyrics fit LOTR to a scary degree, word for word. I remember re-listening to it after seeing the movies and thinking how perfectly it would fit LOTR. And apparently I was not the only one. Not only that, but the person cut the video so each lyric line has a corresponding image in the movie and it’s just…guuuuh.

Here it is:

In other news, I started first episode of Coffee Prince and so much love! I like is much better than Hana Kimi (I enjoy HK but prefer the Taiwanese version). It’s cracky, and fun, and with total potential for a bit of angst (hero has Daddy issues!). And EYH is adorable as the girl pretending to be a boy (she makes a very believable boy actually) and Go Yoo is so charming and sexy in this that you can see how his character is a notorious playboy. And that is the thing. It is going to be awesome to see his ‘detach detach, no commitment’ utter playboy deal with falling in love with a guy (or a girl he thinks is a guy). OMG yes. Basically, he thinks she is a guy and he hires her to pretend to be his gay bf so as not to be matchmade by his family. Heh. And they end up working together and to his horror he discovers he is falling for her. She, otoh, is falling for him as well, but can’t admit she is a woman for some delicious plot reasons.

I bring you stills. Largely of GY hotness.



This drama knows what the audience wants:







I really like the colors:



The heroine has come with food delivery but the hero assumes it’s a guy so he just continues to dry himself:



Her reaction:





LOL. He is all ‘I am so awesome even delivery boys check out my attributes’ Heh.



Teaching:



Secondary characters cuteness. It’s her younger sis and suitor:



Hero has Daddy issues:



The wacky, awesome Mom and Grandma of the hero:



Grandma is all ‘how dare you kiss some guy in this pic. You are gaaaaay! Noez! Get married right away!’



The heroine, her Mom and Sis:



Secondary main male character. What is with the bread parcels?





Awww. Secondary OTP:





Also, my Robin Hood craving led me to dig out one of my favorite RH noves, Jennifer Roberson’s Lady of the Forest. Eeeee. I also finished first volume of Millenium Snow, an earlier manga by the Ouran author which revolves around a 17 year old human girl and an 18 year old boy Vampire. It’s delish.

And off to see Order of the Phoenix again tonight, which is a miracle considering my takes on the other HP movies. This time it’s with Mr. Mousie :)

Comments

[fivil.livejournal.com]

Coffee Prince is TOTAL love. I never knew I was such a sucker for girl-dresses-up-a-boy plotlines, I swear but this one confirms it.

Gong Yoo is delicious, oh christ, and the drama is SO fanservicey. They just find excuses to take off his shirt, it's hilarious. I love it.

I'm dying for more subbed eps of this.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

CP is so awesome and I am only half an ep in. It's this fluff and craziness but with enough undertone of potnetial bit of angst to sate me. So goooood.

[eccequambonum.livejournal.com]

okay, i give up and have to ask: how do you do this all? and work? inquiring minds want to know the normal course of your day, and demand the truth that you are not in fact human and require no sleep. ;p

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

LOL

1. I am a speed-reader
2. When I watch dramas, I am ruthless with the ff button and reading subs at 4x :)
3. Until very recently, mr. Mousie had an insane schedule so I would basically only see him on the weekends, really, so I needed something to do with all my free time.
4. I am sorta insomniac.

:)

[eccequambonum.livejournal.com]

::grumbles::

1. damn. i used to be. then life as an english major followed by law student followed by editor killed me of that ability. must analyze every single word, look for hidden meaning, and correct sentence structure. i hate my brain. . . . (and seriously, you did speed reading of that DH .pdf? i can barely see it, let alone read it quickly!)

2. cheater! i had no idea you were totally cheating!! see above and my analytical brain. this is where the visual part of it kicks in to play along as well.

3. mm, i'm the one with the stretched schedule. not so sure what this "free time" thing is.

4. i want to be able to live on less than 7 hours sleep. . .

::green eyed monster slinks back to work::

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

In the books, Boromir is largely just an example of what the ring does to you. He's a much more "real" character in the movie(largely due to the ever awesome Sean Bean) It's just so much clearer there that he really is a very good man who wants nothing more than to help and protect his people, and you can see that for all he may occassionally come across as an arrogant jerk, that's only because of his sense of responsibility, and he really is a very nice guys who respects the others and has a real bond with the hobbits.

How's Blood+ going? Did you ever finish Otogi Zoshi?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Blood + is very good but I got sidetracked. I have a few eps of OZ left, because this is the one I watch with mr. Mousie who until recently had an insane schedule.

arrogant jerk, that's only because of his sense of responsibility, and he really is a very nice guys who respects the others and has a real bond with the hobbits.


Exactly. I love the scene of his teaching them to fence etc etc. And his final death scene is so much more poignant because of that bond and care.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

yes, and then he realizes he's about to get tackled and has "but...i can't defend myself...they're little..." all over his face...you can already tell, but that's when you realize that he really is just this really, really nice guy, he just has tons of responsibilities weighing down on him. The movie also helps drive home more about just what he and his people do and what they face, so you understand his attitude better because really, from his perspective(and he's not really wrong) has family has been doing all the work for years and years but oh, aragorn's here, so we'll just turn it all over to him now. (not that that's exactly what it was, but it's how it would have come across to anyone in his position.

Was curious about OZ because I don't think I ever really realized I shipped t he OTP like crazy until the last few eps. Ever finish SDK anime?

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

has family has been doing all the work for years and years but oh, aragorn's here, so we'll just turn it all over to him now

Exactly. And he (unlike his psycho daddy) can change his mind. His travel with Aragorn makes him recognize Aragorn as worthy of Kingship.

Re: SDK. Nah. It was too different from the manga and I lost interest anyway.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

All what meganbmoore said about Boromir !!
As to Coffee Prince - this is total LOVE. I even watch the new eps unsubbed because GY and YEH have enthralled me as Han Kyul and Eun-chan.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

CP is so awesome. It's like jdrama Hana Kimi only done right :)

Re: Boromir. Oh YES.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

CP is so awesome. It's like jdrama Hana Kimi only done right :)
Absolutely, though I have to confess I like HK IP - only because of Ikuta Toma. His Nakatsu is different than Jiro's but somehow he is my favourite character.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I don't really care for IT *gasp* I know, I know, I think he looks like a fish though :) HK-japan is enjoyable but it doesn't evoke the sheer glee CP is getting :)

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

It's true, he looks like a fish. :) I don't know why, but I guess I like the underdogs, both in the series and in real life. He is now 22 and still hasn't debuted in a Johnny's group even though he has a nice voice (but also very unique and not easily fit into a group set up). His Nakatsu is toned down more than Jiro's but he is still cute.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

And no matter how many times I see it, Boromir’s death (and Merry and Pippin confronted with a great loss for the first time, and Aragorn kissing him on his forehead, and wearing his greaves for the rest of the movies) makes me sob. I love how in the movies, Boromir-I-don’t-care-about-him-in-the-book becomes this tragic, good man I care for desperately.

Oh, agreement to the nth degree - I never liked Boromir in the books (Faramir was my boyfriend, but that's another story) but in the movies, wow ... I can't believe how fantastic they made his character. And I love movie-Aragorn, so unsure of himself and so full of doubt and sorrow.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oh, this icon makes me a little choked up, how silly is that?

In the books, Boromir was about as interesting to me as a box of rocks (and not even geologically interesting rocks at that). I liked Aragorn for his extreme competence. When I first read the book, I identified with hobbits the most, as sort of proxies for children venturing into a scary adult world, and I remember feeling this sense of safety and peace (for them and by proxy for myself) when he first appeared. But I never really empasized with him in the books, if that made sense (I probably would have, if I read the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, but I didn't have it at the time. PJ was super smart to include it in).

Like you, Faramir was my book boyfriend, no question about it.

But in the movies, even though I love movie Faramir quite a lot (at first I had to get used to him, but now I can't imagine anyone else in the role), I loved Boromir and Aragorn even more. Boromir, where you get the sense of someone strong, and good, and noble, but also pushed almost beyond the breaking point by defending his country in a hopeless war. He is a walking case of PTSD almost. And so much humanity in his care of the hobbits. A lot of it is Sean Bean, who is amazing when he is allowed to play more than 'evil evil evil' (in fact, when we first heard of the movies, Best Friend and I wanted him for Aragorn).

I love movie-Aragorn, so unsure of himself and so full of doubt and sorrow.

Exactly. Book Aragorn was this larger than life shining figure, but while movie Aragorn is also incredibly heroic by any definition, it's his uncertainty: of whether he is capable, of whether he is worthy, of whether he is enough, that really gets to me. He just comes across as so passionately human, if that makes any sense.

[queenofthorns.livejournal.com]

Boromir, where you get the sense of someone strong, and good, and noble, but also pushed almost beyond the breaking point by defending his country in a hopeless war. He is a walking case of PTSD almost. And so much humanity in his care of the hobbits.

I think that scene from the extended TTT with Denethor and Boromir and Faramir goes such a long way to explaining Boromir's mindset when he comes to Rivendell. First of all, the sense that he's constantly the middleman in this neverending war between his father and his brother; the sense that he never, ever wanted to go find the Ring; the way that he basically repeats Denethor's words verbatim at the Council. And his slow coming to terms with Aragorn's leadership is so beautiful - from thinking that Gondor needs no King to telling Aragorn that he is "my King" and so sad, because at the same time, the Ring is giving rise to so much "fear and doubt" within him. (And yes, I love his bond with Merry and Pippin - and that Pippin, for Boromir's sake, enters Denethor's service, and that's what enables him to save Boromir's brother in th end. Sniff!) It's like, the basic outlines of this story are there in the book, but as you say, Boromir is not remotely interesting there. As you know, I love Sean Bean (have you ever seen Sharpe? I think you would like it...) and so of course, I cannot disagree that he brought something extra to the role as well :P

while movie Aragorn is also incredibly heroic by any definition, it's his uncertainty: of whether he is capable, of whether he is worthy, of whether he is enough, that really gets to me. He just comes across as so passionately human, if that makes any sense.

Absolutely! I think a huge theme in the movies is Aragorn coming to accept that humanity IS flawed (as Elrond has apparently been telling him for years) but that it can be noble and good and most of all, redeemable (as Boromir, and later Theoden, both show him.) I love that in the movies, Aragorn labors under this burden of Isildur's original sin (in not destroying the Ring) and it's only slowly that he comes to see the truth of what Arwen tells him - he is Isildur's Heir, not Isildur himself. He is so much less Perfect Hero than he is in the books, which makes me love him so much more!

(And my icon chokes me up too!)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Denethor and Boromir and Faramir goes such a long way to explaining Boromir's mindset when he comes to Rivendell

Agreed. For such a short scene, it actually sets up so much so brilliantly: the poisoned family dynamic, the sheer desperation of Gondor (each victory only buys them a little reprieve, no more) etc etc. And while in one sense, it's good to be the 'good son,' the one Denethor approves of, in another sense it's no picnic: he has to live up to unreasonable expectations, he has to deal with his father denigrating his brother as a sort of backhand praise to him, Boromir etc etc.

that Pippin, for Boromir's sake, enters Denethor's service, and that's what enables him to save Boromir's brother in the end.

That is one of the things I love so much. Because it really does echo the theme of kindness never being wasted. Frodo's kindness to Gollum wasn't. And Boromir's kindness to Pippin is what led to Pippin saving the brother Boromir loved. Full circle.

have you ever seen Sharpe? I think you would like it...

I love Sharpe entirely too much. Don't think the series was as good once they got rid of Teresa, but it was still excellent.

He is so much less Perfect Hero than he is in the books, which makes me love him so much more!

Oh, definitely. You see him struggle, just as every character in the movies struggles, and that makes him so much more understandable.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Movie Faramir makes me want to run and hug him and say "daddy may not love you, but I do." As far as weight and responsibilities go, he feels it just as much as Boromir, but Boromir was the "Good" son, the one dad expected to get it right(not that it wasn't hard on him) while Faramir was the afterthought.

Some day, it will have to be explained to me why Hollywood thinks Sean Bean should always play the bad guy...well, almost always(he is one of the few really good things about Troy)

The thing about Aragorn that makes me love him so much more in the movies is that, in the books, you get the feeling that he never tries to get the ring because he's too strong to be tempted(and, by implication, better than Boromir or anyone else) but in the movies, he isn't drawn to the ring because he doesn't think he's good enough...he doesn't believe he's good enough for the power and associates it with his own weakness, so he's better able to resist it(as compared to Boromir, who's drawn to it because he believes it will let him save his people)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I love movie Faramir so much (as much as I do his book counterpart).

He is someone who has been put down by his father his whole life, someone who lost the only true loving family (his brother) and on top of that has to deal not just with the grief, but with the knowledge that his father wishes he died instead.

I remember someone (not me, surprisingly) literally yelling out in our theater when Faramir asks Denethor if Denethor would rather that he (Faramir) died instead of Boromir and Denethor says 'I do wish it.'

OMG.

At that point I thought burning alive was too good for Denethor. And sending his remaining son into a suicidal attack as if to do the 'good son died, this one shall not live either' and refusing even the tiny consolation of saying that he will think better of him.

Oh. HATE.

I do think that the scene of Faramir's last charge, intercut with Denethor's dinner (like Kronos devouring his children) while Pippin is singing, and ending with Gandalf seated, defeated with his staff next to him, is the best scene in all the movies. No matter how many times I see it, I get shivers.

I am always so happy for Faramir/Eowyn, because they are both damaged, 'unworthy' (though for Eowyn it's because of her gender and of Grima's isolation-like-whispers to her) people who are actually amazing, and who find comfort and love with each other.

They both have an awesome, loving, but far away older sibling (though in Eowyn's case, the distance is temporary) and a father figure who failed them. Of course, Theoden, even as a zombie-like figure, was never abusive, but you get the gist.

you get the feeling that he never tries to get the ring because he's too strong to be tempted(and, by implication, better than Boromir or anyone else) but in the movies, he isn't drawn to the ring because he doesn't think he's good enough...he doesn't believe he's good enough for the power and associates it with his own weakness, so he's better able to resist it

Exactly. He feels unworthy (in a way, like Frodo does). What he wants is not anything the Ring can offer him.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I'm not positive(as it was dark and it's been a while) but I'm pretty sure someone on the front row threw popcorn at the "i do wish it" scene.

The main difference, IMO, between the books and the movies is that the books make you love the story and admire the characters, but the movies make you love the characters.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

The main difference, IMO, between the books and the movies is that the books make you love the story and admire the characters, but the movies make you love the characters.

Exactly. It's as if it fill in what has been etched first.

[ficchica.livejournal.com]

Coffee Prince is fantastic, I'm really worried though that it is going to run out of steam and end up dragging until the last episode.
There are really good episode summaries here http://www.dramabeans.com/
I'm really trying to reserve judgment on the new Hana Kimi but I'm not enjoying it as much as the TW version. I wonder which one is closer to the manga.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the summaries! YESSS! I hope it won't run out of steam.

The TW version was very close to the manga. J version, not really.

[muffinkath7.livejournal.com]

I adore Lady of the Forest. One of my top ten books ever. Too bad Lady of the Glen sucked so bad. :( I was really disappointed in it,

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

Ooo, pretty icon!

[muffinkath7.livejournal.com]

I love yours too! Where did you get it? I'm always looking for new ones. Robin Hood is my new obsession.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

These are from avictoriangirl, but most of mine are found on the robinhoodbbc community.

[crumpeteer.livejournal.com]

I still say you should give the new Robin Hood series a whirl. Cheesy as all get out, yes, but WONDERFUL, and I very rarely say that about cheese. And Jonas Armstrong just makes a wonderfully complex Robin who's an idealist and good guy, but who can also be a spoiled jerk a good part of the time. And Will Scarlett, LOVE that kid.

I like Millenium Snow. It's darker and more somber than Ouran's madcapness, but there's an underlying sweetness that seems to be a staple with Bisco Hatori. Even when it's dark, her work makes you happy.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

MS is very very pretty, too.

Re: RH. I tried it and it wasn't my thing. Maybe I'll try again though...

[carviangli.livejournal.com]

OMFG I love Coffee Prince...nice screencaps:P:P

I have to get onto episode three like NOW...my friends who speak korean(so jealous) have seen up to episode 6 so I need to catch up so we can have crazy rants about Gong Yoo's hotness(not that we don't already) and YEH being adorable...

...one of my friends said that he starts getting GHEI for her in episode 6 so now I am all excited:P

AND OMG I never thought it would be true but YEH makes a really believable boy(I mean far cry from her princess looks in Goong) and her and Gong Yoo are sooo hot and OTPish!!^_^

I like the secondary male lead aswell...but I don't really like the secondary couple...her sister and that dude...they're just weird and annoying...but I wouldn't mind if the secondary main guy and girl hooked up:P

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Can't wait to watch more!

[lenabean.livejournal.com]

So was Sweet 18 a little TOO sweet for you? How much of it did you get through before deciding to call it quits?

Am just curious since I watched all it and found it enjoyable.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I finished ep 5. It was sweet and cute but...just no angst or tension at all :)

[shinystory.livejournal.com]

I'm watching Coffee Prince unsubbed. That should make my books, 'cause I'm usually the type to run after the bandwagon has turned the final corner.

Coffee Prince is so far surprisingly tender. I have great love for it, without even understanding it fully. (I just might sign up for Korean language lessons. :)) I enjoy all the support characters--each one's particular quirkiness, and even how all the relationships develop.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed it wouldn't sag in the middle. I hope we will keep finding gems about it--and I don't only mean Gong Yoo's. *laughs*

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

CP is so amazing. Can't wait to watch more.