Musings of the Obsessive Kind

OMG.

I have a new drama obsession.

And it's a very unlikely one.

It is the Chinese-Korean collaboration Bichunmu (also known as Bichunmoo and Dance in the Sky). There is a Korean movie of the same name. Both the drama and the movie are based on the same source).

Period epic dramas and me are an uneven combination. Some I end up loving (like 2006's adaptation of Return of the Condor Heroes) and a lot lose me because they are too long or have odd beards :P

Luckily, this looks like it will fall on the former side of the divide.

Binchunmu combines two of my favorite things: star-crossed forbidden lovers and the couple that kicks butt with the help of lots of swords.

The story is set during Ming Dynasty. Jan, who is a Korean warrior (who later becomes a rebel leader) and the illegitimate daughter of a Chinese commander, fall in love. Did I mention that, unbeknownst to the lovers, her father is the one who had his family killed? And it goes from there...

Anyway, I was sold on this from the beginning, where a young teenager (most likely their son) is standing, looking at a sword and necklace (???) which is entwined around it, and it flashbacks and intercuts between the kid, and the heroine and the hero, with the massed army behind them and in front of them, and her telling him she will never leave him again, and then they charge, their army at their back, and she is fighting and he is fighting and then it's some time later and they are the only ones left alive, and they are faced by the wall of archers and they look at each other, and lift their swords and just charge into them. It's just...

GUUUUH.

( A couple of MVs )

ETA: First ep is largely about Jan's parents who were all sorts of awesome (and hot) but it seems a family trait to be a loving couple who gets hideously slain together. Pity.

OMG.

I have a new drama obsession.

And it's a very unlikely one.

It is the Chinese-Korean collaboration Bichunmu (also known as Bichunmoo and Dance in the Sky). There is a Korean movie of the same name. Both the drama and the movie are based on the same source).

Period epic dramas and me are an uneven combination. Some I end up loving (like 2006's adaptation of Return of the Condor Heroes) and a lot lose me because they are too long or have odd beards :P

Luckily, this looks like it will fall on the former side of the divide.

Binchunmu combines two of my favorite things: star-crossed forbidden lovers and the couple that kicks butt with the help of lots of swords.

The story is set during Ming Dynasty. Jan, who is a Korean warrior (who later becomes a rebel leader) and the illegitimate daughter of a Chinese commander, fall in love. Did I mention that, unbeknownst to the lovers, her father is the one who had his family killed? And it goes from there...

Anyway, I was sold on this from the beginning, where a young teenager (most likely their son) is standing, looking at a sword and necklace (???) which is entwined around it, and it flashbacks and intercuts between the kid, and the heroine and the hero, with the massed army behind them and in front of them, and her telling him she will never leave him again, and then they charge, their army at their back, and she is fighting and he is fighting and then it's some time later and they are the only ones left alive, and they are faced by the wall of archers and they look at each other, and lift their swords and just charge into them. It's just...

GUUUUH.

( A couple of MVs )

ETA: First ep is largely about Jan's parents who were all sorts of awesome (and hot) but it seems a family trait to be a loving couple who gets hideously slain together. Pity.

I have briefly posted before about the Korean drama Nine-Tailed Fox, but another post is not amiss, seeing that I finally started watching this properly.

NTF might be the drama for you if you normally have no interest in dramas. Think of it as Korean take on Buffy, complete with supernatural creatures thirsting for human blood, cool fight scenes involving gorgeous women, strong and angsty men, impossible love, mysterious prophecies.

And it's all only 16 episodes long.

NTF (available for your viewing pleasure at crunchyroll and youtube. It's also known as 'Forbidden Love' and 'Gumiho') is about Shi Yeon, who by day passes for a normal human. However, in reality she is a "fox" a member of a tribe that only looks like humans but has been engaged immemorial conflict with them (just think 'vampire.' Fox legends seem prevalent in Korea). Think Buffy...only if the heroine was Angel. Or Spike.

Shi Yeon, despite her high position in the hierarchy, finds her stability threatened when her paths cross with the tough cop Min Woo. She might not realize it right away, but Min Woo is not only someone from her past, he is someone she is going to fall in love with. It's a love that is passionate, strong, and very much reciprocated. But it is also very much impossible, because not only can foxes and humans not be in relationships (fight to the death and all) but she is a fox warrior and he is a member of the elite unit which hunts them. Throw in a prophecy or two, the fox warrior leader who is both yummy and in love with Shi Yeon, and a bunch of awesome characters, cool fights, and gorgeous visuals, and you got yourself a heck of a show if you can handle a bit of gore.

Here are a few MVs to convince you to check it out.

This shippy MV is to die for (plus, angsty kissing in the rain!):



( a few more )

I've been rather neglectful of LJ lately. What with being exhausted, various RL commitments and similar, less lj time for me. Am sorry :)

First off, I finished Nodame Cantabile. It's not the kind of drama I have a lot (or any) meta for, but it was a great deal of fun. Two pet peeves: (1) whoeverplayed Straseman. I want to drown him. There is fun OTT and then there is this. Plus, if he is not Japanese, I'll eat my hairbrush. and (2) a bit too cartoonish in some reactions. I know it's on purpose, but it didn't work all the time. But overall, it was fast, fun, breezy and Tamaki Hiroshi is yummilicious.

Second (on Bednaya Nastya): Die, Michael! Seriously, I wasn't mad at his being angry on finding out Anna is a serf (she did lie to him), but his horrible reaction to her confessing to him that she went to Vladimir's room at night, prepared to 'sacrifice' herself to prevent the duel, made me want to choke the life out of him! He knows nothing happened, he knows she loves him (well, she is divided, but no character, her included, is aware of it yet). WTF is wrong with him! He treats her like some sort of leprous whore! He tells her to go back to Vladimir's bed etc etc. He asks her why she didn't come to his bed instead? (Did he want her to wade through the snow for miles, after dark, and try to break into a strange house?) I hate him. Seriously. I am also 'amused' to note that he has never mentioned marriage to her: he took her to a secluded room for sex, true, and was all about them being together, but not a word of marriage. Very honorable of him. *stab*

And oh, the duel itself. I love, when after it all, when Vladimir tells her that 'Baron Vladimir Korf has been slain' and she whispers, because she is so confused and in love, even though she doesn't realize it 'I didn't pull the trigger' (she was threatening him to drop the gun) and he replies 'nontheless, he is dead, and all that remains is to fulfill his last will' and gives her the freedom papers. OMG. And as he is about to ride off he tells Michael, quietly that he started this whole 'charade' with the duel, with only one goal in mind: for Michael to kill him (and it explains so much. He gave Michael first shot, and just stood there, eyes closed. OMG. Anna, he loves you so much!) and tells Michael that sometimes his (Michael's) nobility (in not killing Vladimir) is wrong and a punishment.

But I posted about this scene, with vids/translations before, but case you mised it, ( Here it is behind the cut )

Oh, Vladimir. And then Lisa shows up and they have OMG OMG a night together. And he is so sweet and just tries to be nice and comforting but she basically is begging for a one-night stand, no strings, and he thinks he lost Anna forever, so he gives in. And in the morning, I love the scene, where he is very gentle and sweet but just as closed off as ever to her, and so Lisa realizes she's lost and nothing has changed and leaves. But OMG Anna is back and their scene together just kills me. Because he doesn't know about her break with Michael. And he is so uncertain and just the sweetness and the loss and adorableness kills me.

In other news, Natalie and Alexander's pillow fight=WIN. They have great chemistry and his (finally) confession of his feelings being real is amazing. And when he sheds a tear later OMG. And she runs away to her fiance because he is safe and I bet she is in love and so overwhelmed.

The movie selection for today is one of my favorite movies, the bleakly smart The Manchurian Candidate. I refer to the 1962 version with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury, not the recent remake, which I did not even bother to watch because when the original is one of my all time favorite movies, why would I?

TMC, for those who do not know the plot, involves political assassination, brain-washing, and a bunch of characters who you love (or love to loathe).



The movie opens during the Korean War, when a platoon of American troops, among whom are Ben Marco (Sinatra) and Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), is ambushed. However, soon the boys are back home, having been heroically rescued by Raymond, a blue-blooded, aloof stepson of a slimy politician, Sen. John Iselin. Raymond even receives a Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts, along with gratitude of his mates. And yet…shall-shocked Marco is haunted by nightmares of the time in Korea, nightmares that show a rather different picture. And he is not the only one. What really happened out there? And what does it really mean, for Marco, and for Raymond, and for the rest of the characters, including, in a completely tour-de-force, Raymond’s loathsome mother played by Angela Lansbury.

TMC is a clever-clever, bitter-bitter movie that takes no prisoners. But what I really love about it is that along with the twisty, intelligent plot, it actually makes you care for the characters. You care for the tough, messed-up, cynical, falling-apart-in-front-of-your-eyes Marco. But what is even better, and makes the movie so worthwhile, IMO, is that the movie makes you care about Raymond (who is my favorite character in the movie, actually. Hey, you know me. Messed up and aloof? Am so there).

Anyway, the rest is spoilery so behind cut. Spoilers for the whole enchilada. Seriously, you don’t want to be spoiled for the movie.

( It’s a terrible thing to hate your mother. But I didn’t always hate her. When I was a child, I only kind of disliked her. )

I've been rather neglectful of LJ lately. What with being exhausted, various RL commitments and similar, less lj time for me. Am sorry :)

First off, I finished Nodame Cantabile. It's not the kind of drama I have a lot (or any) meta for, but it was a great deal of fun. Two pet peeves: (1) whoeverplayed Straseman. I want to drown him. There is fun OTT and then there is this. Plus, if he is not Japanese, I'll eat my hairbrush. and (2) a bit too cartoonish in some reactions. I know it's on purpose, but it didn't work all the time. But overall, it was fast, fun, breezy and Tamaki Hiroshi is yummilicious.

Second (on Bednaya Nastya): Die, Michael! Seriously, I wasn't mad at his being angry on finding out Anna is a serf (she did lie to him), but his horrible reaction to her confessing to him that she went to Vladimir's room at night, prepared to 'sacrifice' herself to prevent the duel, made me want to choke the life out of him! He knows nothing happened, he knows she loves him (well, she is divided, but no character, her included, is aware of it yet). WTF is wrong with him! He treats her like some sort of leprous whore! He tells her to go back to Vladimir's bed etc etc. He asks her why she didn't come to his bed instead? (Did he want her to wade through the snow for miles, after dark, and try to break into a strange house?) I hate him. Seriously. I am also 'amused' to note that he has never mentioned marriage to her: he took her to a secluded room for sex, true, and was all about them being together, but not a word of marriage. Very honorable of him. *stab*

And oh, the duel itself. I love, when after it all, when Vladimir tells her that 'Baron Vladimir Korf has been slain' and she whispers, because she is so confused and in love, even though she doesn't realize it 'I didn't pull the trigger' (she was threatening him to drop the gun) and he replies 'nontheless, he is dead, and all that remains is to fulfill his last will' and gives her the freedom papers. OMG. And as he is about to ride off he tells Michael, quietly that he started this whole 'charade' with the duel, with only one goal in mind: for Michael to kill him (and it explains so much. He gave Michael first shot, and just stood there, eyes closed. OMG. Anna, he loves you so much!) and tells Michael that sometimes his (Michael's) nobility (in not killing Vladimir) is wrong and a punishment.

But I posted about this scene, with vids/translations before, but case you mised it, ( Here it is behind the cut )

Oh, Vladimir. And then Lisa shows up and they have OMG OMG a night together. And he is so sweet and just tries to be nice and comforting but she basically is begging for a one-night stand, no strings, and he thinks he lost Anna forever, so he gives in. And in the morning, I love the scene, where he is very gentle and sweet but just as closed off as ever to her, and so Lisa realizes she's lost and nothing has changed and leaves. But OMG Anna is back and their scene together just kills me. Because he doesn't know about her break with Michael. And he is so uncertain and just the sweetness and the loss and adorableness kills me.

In other news, Natalie and Alexander's pillow fight=WIN. They have great chemistry and his (finally) confession of his feelings being real is amazing. And when he sheds a tear later OMG. And she runs away to her fiance because he is safe and I bet she is in love and so overwhelmed.

The movie selection for today is one of my favorite movies, the bleakly smart The Manchurian Candidate. I refer to the 1962 version with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury, not the recent remake, which I did not even bother to watch because when the original is one of my all time favorite movies, why would I?

TMC, for those who do not know the plot, involves political assassination, brain-washing, and a bunch of characters who you love (or love to loathe).



The movie opens during the Korean War, when a platoon of American troops, among whom are Ben Marco (Sinatra) and Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), is ambushed. However, soon the boys are back home, having been heroically rescued by Raymond, a blue-blooded, aloof stepson of a slimy politician, Sen. John Iselin. Raymond even receives a Congressional Medal of Honor for his efforts, along with gratitude of his mates. And yet…shall-shocked Marco is haunted by nightmares of the time in Korea, nightmares that show a rather different picture. And he is not the only one. What really happened out there? And what does it really mean, for Marco, and for Raymond, and for the rest of the characters, including, in a completely tour-de-force, Raymond’s loathsome mother played by Angela Lansbury.

TMC is a clever-clever, bitter-bitter movie that takes no prisoners. But what I really love about it is that along with the twisty, intelligent plot, it actually makes you care for the characters. You care for the tough, messed-up, cynical, falling-apart-in-front-of-your-eyes Marco. But what is even better, and makes the movie so worthwhile, IMO, is that the movie makes you care about Raymond (who is my favorite character in the movie, actually. Hey, you know me. Messed up and aloof? Am so there).

Anyway, the rest is spoilery so behind cut. Spoilers for the whole enchilada. Seriously, you don’t want to be spoiled for the movie.

( It’s a terrible thing to hate your mother. But I didn’t always hate her. When I was a child, I only kind of disliked her. )

Finally bought a flat-screen tw (26") yesterday and you know how I am inaugurating it?

By watching Nodame Cantabile.

Barely first ten minutes into first ep and I think this is going into my Top 10 dramas ever.

SO GOOD. Classica music, and gorgeous young man, and angst and funniness. And intercutting.

Plus, Tamaki Hisroshi looks even BETTER on flat screen :)

(I'd be watching Kim Sam soon but am waiting to do another evening of it with tatterpunk).

I've been a bit off dramas for a bit (I am sure you noticed) but I think this just might get me back 'on.'

So, I know people on my flist were watching Jotei. How did it end? Spoil me! Please tell me the heroine and the hot mob boy hooked up! ( I found out the ending on soompi )

Also, I have a confession. I haven’t yet watched eps 13-15 of Why Why Love. I know it’s going to get heavy duty angst and I am a total wimp when it comes to this OTP, even though I know there is a happy ending. Very odd for me, but there it is. Sometimes, like with The Outsiders, I wimp out. I still haven’t seen ep 20 because I can’t deal.

I have been fighting a mad urge to watch Smile Again (with Lee Dong Gun) or Snow White/Taste Sweet Love (with Lee Wan) but no new dramas until I finish Kim Sam Soon. The more I think about KSS, the more I adore it. Though you know something odd? I think of any drama I’ve ever seen, the only one who took the story of ‘they loved each other and then she left’ and made it about the two still loving each other, and trying to work it out is Coffee Prince. Usually, once you leave for a long time, for selfish reasons, it’s curtains. See Pride or My Girl.

The little niece of Huyn Bin’s in the drama is the most adorable thing ever. And I love that KSS knows to talk about her when HB is feeling horrible. That always breaks through.

So, I know people on my flist were watching Jotei. How did it end? Spoil me! Please tell me the heroine and the hot mob boy hooked up! ( I found out the ending on soompi )

Also, I have a confession. I haven’t yet watched eps 13-15 of Why Why Love. I know it’s going to get heavy duty angst and I am a total wimp when it comes to this OTP, even though I know there is a happy ending. Very odd for me, but there it is. Sometimes, like with The Outsiders, I wimp out. I still haven’t seen ep 20 because I can’t deal.

I have been fighting a mad urge to watch Smile Again (with Lee Dong Gun) or Snow White/Taste Sweet Love (with Lee Wan) but no new dramas until I finish Kim Sam Soon. The more I think about KSS, the more I adore it. Though you know something odd? I think of any drama I’ve ever seen, the only one who took the story of ‘they loved each other and then she left’ and made it about the two still loving each other, and trying to work it out is Coffee Prince. Usually, once you leave for a long time, for selfish reasons, it’s curtains. See Pride or My Girl.

The little niece of Huyn Bin’s in the drama is the most adorable thing ever. And I love that KSS knows to talk about her when HB is feeling horrible. That always breaks through.

tattarpunk came over last night, and between consuming pastries and fangirl-talking, we managed to watch four episodes of My Name is Kim Sam Soon.

MNIKSS is a kdrama about a 30 year old, slightly overweight (by Korean standards. She is what, size 4?) pastry chef with the unfashionable name of Sam Soon, who finds out her jerk of a boyfriend is cheating on her, on Christmas Eve.

However, suddenly-single-again Sam Soon's life is about to get a lot stranger and more interesting, because shortly after she finds a new job, her boss, a slightly younger (27), spoiled-rich-boy Jin-Heon (played by the yummy Hyun Bin, miles away from his character in Snow Queen) asks her to pretend-date him, to get his mother off his back. In need for money, Sam Soon agrees...

MNNIKSS is a super-famous drama. Very, very, very. Yet, I stayed away from it for a long time largely because I knew it was angst-light and I need my regular fixes. But tatterpunk suggested and I thought it would be a fine idea.

So, what did I think, four eps in?

I love it.

( Sam Soon rambles )

In other news, I don't like to have posts lately without Bednaya Nastya so here is a quick clip from next to last ep, with Vladimir rescuing Anna who is trapped frm bad guys. Not much translation is necessary but she does tell him things like 'I was so afraid I would die without seeing you again' and 'I love you' 18 bazillion times. I am sure he is gratified, considering he broke out of jail to rescue her.



And on a last, slide-to-obscurity point, this seriously is probably the most obscure entry I made in this LJ so far.

But I just received in the mail a DVD of 31 of June (31 июня), a Russian movie from the 1970s (1978) which I loved in childhood entirely too much. I saw it once and couldn't forget it.

31 of June is an adult fairy tale based on (ironically) an American novel by J B Priestley, called The 31st of June: A Tale of True Love, enterprise and Progress, in the Arthurian and Ad-Atomic Ages. The story follows a seemingly impossible love affair between a medival princess in a fairy-tale kingdom and a modern day painter.

Oh, it's totally dated, the outfits and sountrack are completely 70s. It's probably cheesy and not excellently acted, and production values are not really there. But I don't care. It has such a connection to my childhood, I loved it when I flipped through the DVD as much as I did when I was a kid. I think I finally get the people who like old school Dr. Who.

( Youtube clip )

Dammit, I misplaced my last Lovers disc and cannot find it. Argh. I only had three eps left. I'll give it a week to surface (I don't want to overturn the house). Meanwhile it means Hello Miss is my next kdrama to watch (QSS is not here yet). If it's like the adorable first ep, I'll love it, and the fluff will balance nicely with Bednaya Nastya angst.



Oh, I just love the internet. How else would I able to get my hands on delicious tv products from various countries?

And speaking of delicious angst from various countries, here is the official MV for Bednaya Nastya (with the opening credits song). The awesome part is that:
a. it has a lot of clips from early eps
b. One of the singers is Andrei! Sans glasses and in a modern outfit. He is HOT that way.
c. at the very end, the singers are replaced with Vladimir-Anna-Michael trio. Yum. Vladimir is hot in modern clothes too *sigh*