Musings of the Obsessive Kind

I mean, ep 11 gives us baths of angst, starring Wu Zun and his marvelous arms:








Argh, evil cousin of Wu Zun's character, I hope you die in a fire. Seriously, wtf, psycho! Dude just manipulated the situation to take away not only the company but even the house and is now gloating in WZ's face for being too trusting - i.e. not thinking his family is a pack of two-faced hyenas. DIE! I mean, the rationale isn't that WZ ran the company badly or treated people awfully - nah, it's just that he trusted his family. WTF.

He was about to propose to Rainie, too, and you ruined it! On plus side, it did result in the above-mentioned bath, so it's not all bad.

( In case you need more convincing, two shippy scenes from ep 11 - one funny and one touching )

My current/asap twdrama roster is this, Love Keeps Going, Material Queen, Calling for Love, I Do, KO 3an Guo, The X-Family, That Love Comes, Marry Me, Because of You, Bump Off Lover, Roseate Love, In Time With You, Ring Ring Bell, and Material People (though I suppose the latter is a cdrama). Plus a few others. And I feel like rewatching Wish to See You Again. Good Lord.

1. It's a sign of my total obsession with both that I am trying to remain spoiler-free for both Prosecutor Princess and Personal Taste eps aired today until I can watch them with subs.

2. Lee Jong Hyuk has a leading role! Omo! It's called Marry Me and is about some married couples who lives together. But honestly, who cares about the plot? Finally, I get to see LJH as the lead! (Well, he was sort of the lead in Powerful Opponents but I won't go there, am still bitter).

3. Poster for Road N. 1. Yes, please.

( Poster behind cut )

4. I plan to watch Oh! Pil Seung And Bong Soon Young starring Ahn Jae Wook and Chae Rim. Have a MV.

( MV behind cut )

5. Because Stairway to Heaven gave me an unhealthy obsession with Kwon Sang Woo, have some pics of KSW and family from Jang Dong Gun's wedding. There is nothing I find cooler than a hot guy with a small kid.



( More pics here )

1. It's a sign of my total obsession with both that I am trying to remain spoiler-free for both Prosecutor Princess and Personal Taste eps aired today until I can watch them with subs.

2. Lee Jong Hyuk has a leading role! Omo! It's called Marry Me and is about some married couples who lives together. But honestly, who cares about the plot? Finally, I get to see LJH as the lead! (Well, he was sort of the lead in Powerful Opponents but I won't go there, am still bitter).

3. Poster for Road N. 1. Yes, please.

( Poster behind cut )

4. I plan to watch Oh! Pil Seung And Bong Soon Young starring Ahn Jae Wook and Chae Rim. Have a MV.

( MV behind cut )

5. Because Stairway to Heaven gave me an unhealthy obsession with Kwon Sang Woo, have some pics of KSW and family from Jang Dong Gun's wedding. There is nothing I find cooler than a hot guy with a small kid.



( More pics here )

Oh glee-est glee that ever lived. Not only is the first ep subs are out for Marry Me, but lainemma is going to be subbing The Outsiders 2 shortly and agreed to sub Coming Lies after her current roster is done. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! I am going to have a Mike He and Dylan Kuo extravaganzas.

Now back to Jumong.



Isn’t this the cutest thing ever? It’s Top (l-r): Jumong, Sosuhno, Bottom (l-r): Haemosu, Yongpo, Daeso.

I am in the middle of ep 8 and lots of things happened (these things move fast): Jumong being stripped (only of his title, alas) and driven out of the palace, Jumong finding work with the local ganglord and saving Sosunho in the process. Jumong hiding in underground prison and living with Haemosu who undertakes to train him. Lots.

Jumong’s character arc continues to progress gradually but quickly and believably. He’s metamorphosed from weakling to a young man of grit who is still unsure on his feet at times, but someone I now like and respect. He is still not as awesome as his Daddy Haemosu, but he is at the stage where I can see Haemosu-surpassage in his future. Actually, this drama does something pretty rare for its character arc, IMO. There are two ways these stories of period heroes go: someone overcoming a horrible childhood through guts or someone growing up and transforming from spoiled brat. Damo goes for the former (and so will BYJ’s ‘Legend’ if the promos are accurate) and in a way, this is the more appealing pattern. Overcoming adversity etc etc. But Jumong goes for the latter and it’s a tricky thing to pull off but it manages. In large part thanks to the fact that it views him as a brat when he is a brat, and in large part because of Song Il-Gook.

I have to say that Song Il-Gook is amazing. Sure, he is gorgeous and charismatic, but that is not what I am talking about: ultimately, the actor playing Jumong has to be really good. Not only is the drama all about him, but there is this complicated character arc, and SIG is believable as a spoiled weakling, and through every step of the process of someone finding his spine and his ‘manhood’ (for lack of a better term) and (if the clips I’ve seen are representative) a full-fledged but still very human and understandable hero. He always comes across as real. And such expressive eyes! (e.g. the scene where he is hungry and looking at the food place. I felt a bit hungry myself just looking).

( Rambles on drama, spoilers through ep 8 )

Since Love Story in Harvard appears, while angsty at times and uber-romantic, to be an upbeat drama overall, I am considering which angsty one to watch next after the current batch. I am alternating Taiyou No Kisetsu (most likely winner, as I planned to watch it forever plus Takki!) or newly arrived Something Happened in Bali otherwise known as ( spoiler for the end )

I have watched more of Love Story in Harvard and all I can say is their grasp of law school is quite wonky: Hyon-Woo is taking a contracts class but needs help (and thus hires Soo-In) for a malpractice case for it, which is a torts subject if anything, and then speaks up and wins his Prof’s respect (and thanks Soo-In for helping with the answer) with a constructive discharge question which is either employment or labor law. WTF? Ehhh, whatever. KRW looks so adorable once he finally wins through that I don’t care and the only coherent thought left in my head is ‘I’ll tutor you, KRW! I might not be a minisetring to AIDS patients Korean beauty, but I’ll do it for free!’ :P

Oh, and found this pic from some upcoming ep of Witch Yoo Hee:



and it’s cute and all but I cannot concentrate as it’s the exact jacket Jae Hee wore in Delightful Girl Chun0Hyang in the bus stop scene (don’t want to be spoilery but it’s one of my fave scenes ever) so my brain just goes into DGCH nostalgia mode!

And last but not least, I am incredibly excited. Apparently, not only is there a sub group forming to sub Mike He's Marry Me but the awesome DoReMi fansubs have picked up *hyperventilates* Vic Zhou's Love Storm for subbing. Vic is my favorite drama actor hands down and I wanted to see LS for ages. I even own the unsubbed DVDs and watched bits but OMG OMG OMG subs. Yeah, the plot might be 'love traingle' or what not and he's gotten better between then and Mars but I don't care. Because he looks GORGEOUS and he protects the heroine with his own body when the bad guy shoots the gun and there is hurt/comfort and happy endings and awesomeness.

YES.

And to add on another awesome note? Short preview for Bambino, Matsumoto Jun's new upcoming drama!

( preview )

Since Love Story in Harvard appears, while angsty at times and uber-romantic, to be an upbeat drama overall, I am considering which angsty one to watch next after the current batch. I am alternating Taiyou No Kisetsu (most likely winner, as I planned to watch it forever plus Takki!) or newly arrived Something Happened in Bali otherwise known as ( spoiler for the end )

I have watched more of Love Story in Harvard and all I can say is their grasp of law school is quite wonky: Hyon-Woo is taking a contracts class but needs help (and thus hires Soo-In) for a malpractice case for it, which is a torts subject if anything, and then speaks up and wins his Prof’s respect (and thanks Soo-In for helping with the answer) with a constructive discharge question which is either employment or labor law. WTF? Ehhh, whatever. KRW looks so adorable once he finally wins through that I don’t care and the only coherent thought left in my head is ‘I’ll tutor you, KRW! I might not be a minisetring to AIDS patients Korean beauty, but I’ll do it for free!’ :P

Oh, and found this pic from some upcoming ep of Witch Yoo Hee:



and it’s cute and all but I cannot concentrate as it’s the exact jacket Jae Hee wore in Delightful Girl Chun0Hyang in the bus stop scene (don’t want to be spoilery but it’s one of my fave scenes ever) so my brain just goes into DGCH nostalgia mode!

And last but not least, I am incredibly excited. Apparently, not only is there a sub group forming to sub Mike He's Marry Me but the awesome DoReMi fansubs have picked up *hyperventilates* Vic Zhou's Love Storm for subbing. Vic is my favorite drama actor hands down and I wanted to see LS for ages. I even own the unsubbed DVDs and watched bits but OMG OMG OMG subs. Yeah, the plot might be 'love traingle' or what not and he's gotten better between then and Mars but I don't care. Because he looks GORGEOUS and he protects the heroine with his own body when the bad guy shoots the gun and there is hurt/comfort and happy endings and awesomeness.

YES.

And to add on another awesome note? Short preview for Bambino, Matsumoto Jun's new upcoming drama!

( preview )

Yeah, I am spamming.

However, I just watched the last part of the last episode of Marry Me, unsubbed (Mike He's last drama, where I would KILL someone for subs) on youtube and I have the brief following observations I simply MUST share.

1. Mike He? Is unbearably, freakishly gorgeous and hot. He must be some sort of genentic mutant. Whatever it is...it makes me revert to a three year old.

( Rest of observations are Spoilery, but come on. As if this is ever getting subbed )

6. Googling 'Marry Me Mike He' makes one feel like a freak. Especially since tatterpunk already has dibs on him.

Here is the playlist for Marry Me if you want to check the drama out for yourself

This is going to be long and rambly and about every topic under the sun.

Saw two movies in the theater this weekend: The Prestige and Borat. The former was an unrealistic bore-fest (the central conceit was just…no, I cannot suspend disbelief in that fashion) and the characters had no inner life of their own or any realness but acted as puppets pulled by the screenplay. Blah.

Borat was quite funny if eminently forgettable, though I must be singularly depraved because the ‘shocking’ scene people and critics were mentioning just had me going: ‘huh? That’s what the fuss is about? Why?’

The best thing about both of those movies were the trailers. I am very interested in seeing The Fountain with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz (I love RW and while I don’t get the fuss about HJ, I like him well enough). I am dying to see Apocalypto. I don’t like Mel Gibson, and I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but I am so interested in seeing Mayan Civilization on screen. It really is like nothing else I’ve seen before. And the trailer for Casino Royale made me want to watch a Bond movie in…ever. Daniel Craig comes across as ruthless enough to be a routine killer (unlike Pierce Brosnan who came across as suave but not at all realistic as an agent), the feel seems to be darker and grittier and not so much about pretty shiny things. I’ll give it a try, if for nothing else than sheer wonder of a Bond movie being 96% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. I have to say, the temporal functioning of the Bond universe gives me huge headaches. How come Bond can look like Sean Connery AND Pierce Brosnan? How can he be Bonding in the sixties and then still Bond in 2006, and look younger than he did in the eighties? Why does Bond start his career in 2006 and is a seasoned professional by 1972? It makes my head hurt :P

I’ve been neglecting my Battlestar Galactica write-ups. ( Here are the thoughts on episode 4 )

I’ve been reading Jasper Fforde Thursday Next series and I really recommend. I’ve also started watching Bleach, the anime, which I like but don’t love (yet).

And in non-related to anything dorama news. Why or why are so many Taiwanese dramas unsubbed? I love Korean dramas and enjoy Japanese ones, but there is nothing as satisfying as a good Taiwanese drama. But so few of them are subbed! Whyyyyyyyy? I’ve watched the first part of first ep of Hana Kimi unsubbed (and it’s awesome awesome awesome. Ella makes a good Mizuki. The other TW actresses I love: Barbie Hsu or Ariel Lin are too feminine and/or too old to pull this off and Wu Zun=HOT as Sano, though I still would have loved to see Mike He in the role) but I can do that because I read the manga. Generally, no subs, means no watching for me. And that is evil.

Why am I mentioning this again? Because I went looking for subs of Marry Me (Let’s Get Married) but could find none. Even though it starred Mike He. Whyyyyy? *weeps*



( Plot and pictures from Marry Me )

And the rest of the post is occupied by general dorama babblings so it’s under the cut.

( Dorama related )

This is going to be long and rambly and about every topic under the sun.

Saw two movies in the theater this weekend: The Prestige and Borat. The former was an unrealistic bore-fest (the central conceit was just…no, I cannot suspend disbelief in that fashion) and the characters had no inner life of their own or any realness but acted as puppets pulled by the screenplay. Blah.

Borat was quite funny if eminently forgettable, though I must be singularly depraved because the ‘shocking’ scene people and critics were mentioning just had me going: ‘huh? That’s what the fuss is about? Why?’

The best thing about both of those movies were the trailers. I am very interested in seeing The Fountain with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz (I love RW and while I don’t get the fuss about HJ, I like him well enough). I am dying to see Apocalypto. I don’t like Mel Gibson, and I have no idea if the movie will be any good, but I am so interested in seeing Mayan Civilization on screen. It really is like nothing else I’ve seen before. And the trailer for Casino Royale made me want to watch a Bond movie in…ever. Daniel Craig comes across as ruthless enough to be a routine killer (unlike Pierce Brosnan who came across as suave but not at all realistic as an agent), the feel seems to be darker and grittier and not so much about pretty shiny things. I’ll give it a try, if for nothing else than sheer wonder of a Bond movie being 96% fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. I have to say, the temporal functioning of the Bond universe gives me huge headaches. How come Bond can look like Sean Connery AND Pierce Brosnan? How can he be Bonding in the sixties and then still Bond in 2006, and look younger than he did in the eighties? Why does Bond start his career in 2006 and is a seasoned professional by 1972? It makes my head hurt :P

I’ve been neglecting my Battlestar Galactica write-ups. ( Here are the thoughts on episode 4 )

I’ve been reading Jasper Fforde Thursday Next series and I really recommend. I’ve also started watching Bleach, the anime, which I like but don’t love (yet).

And in non-related to anything dorama news. Why or why are so many Taiwanese dramas unsubbed? I love Korean dramas and enjoy Japanese ones, but there is nothing as satisfying as a good Taiwanese drama. But so few of them are subbed! Whyyyyyyyy? I’ve watched the first part of first ep of Hana Kimi unsubbed (and it’s awesome awesome awesome. Ella makes a good Mizuki. The other TW actresses I love: Barbie Hsu or Ariel Lin are too feminine and/or too old to pull this off and Wu Zun=HOT as Sano, though I still would have loved to see Mike He in the role) but I can do that because I read the manga. Generally, no subs, means no watching for me. And that is evil.

Why am I mentioning this again? Because I went looking for subs of Marry Me (Let’s Get Married) but could find none. Even though it starred Mike He. Whyyyyy? *weeps*



( Plot and pictures from Marry Me )

And the rest of the post is occupied by general dorama babblings so it’s under the cut.

( Dorama related )