Musings of the Obsessive Kind

While I am still sorting through my 2400 (!!!) caps for SUFBB eps 15/16, have this, the scene from ep 2 of K2H that turned me into a gibbering mess of a fangirl:



Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi have so much chemistry, it's ridiculous. I can't wait until Hang Ah and Jae Ha fall for each other for real. I remember when the casting was announced going mildly 'huh?' because he's 9 years younger and then, when it turned out this wasn't supposed to be a younger man-older woman thing, going 'huh?' a lot more, but they seriously look the same age and super-combustible and just guuuuuuh!

( Sequence in question )

Also, since I was capping, I was watching raws and without subs to distract me, I realized that LSG has the sexiest voice ever. It makes me meeeeelt.

For evidence of said sexy voice have him singing a song from Gumiho OST. (There are better quality vids out there but I picked this one because the fangirl hysteria cracks me up):

Blame hamster428. Her post on Qin's Moon, a Chinese wuxia 3-D animation set during the Qin Dynasty, led me to seek it out and now I am OBSESSED!



It's basically everything I love in a period/fantasy/wuxia cdrama only even prettier! There are supposed to be seven seasons - three are out with subs, fourth is currently airing. Epic battles, tangled loyalties, OTPs that wield swords!

I will eat...something, if this MV doesn't sell you on this:




Actually, I am pre-obsessed with one particular couple:



I mean, they kill things together and make music together! You know it's soulmate territory!

( A couple of shippy MVs )

OK, say you. You might be interested but what on earth is this animation about? Glad you asked. Plot synopsis from ancientchinese.net: Qin's Moon tells the story of the rise and fall of the Qin Dnasty, the first Dynasty of China. During this time, six kingdoms were conquered by Qin in a ruthless takeover, with the new emperor forcing his subjects to follow his will and laws. The story follows a young boy, Tianming, who is hunted down by the Qin empire for reasons beyond his knowledge; and together with his friends, allies and teachers, will change the course of history.

As the story progresses fantasy, steampunk and history intertwine to tell this truly unique tale of courage during uncertain times. Tianming faces treacherous enemies, hope and loss, difficult relationships with both family and friends, and the challenges of deailing with a changing world. Eventually, a new era will be created out of their struggles for a better world.

(You can find torrents for the subbed first three seasons on ancientchinese.net or watch subbed eps here). There is also this great QM website and a QM tumblr.

Join me in my madness!

Blame hamster428. Her post on Qin's Moon, a Chinese wuxia 3-D animation set during the Qin Dynasty, led me to seek it out and now I am OBSESSED!



It's basically everything I love in a period/fantasy/wuxia cdrama only even prettier! There are supposed to be seven seasons - three are out with subs, fourth is currently airing. Epic battles, tangled loyalties, OTPs that wield swords!

I will eat...something, if this MV doesn't sell you on this:




Actually, I am pre-obsessed with one particular couple:



I mean, they kill things together and make music together! You know it's soulmate territory!

( A couple of shippy MVs )

OK, say you. You might be interested but what on earth is this animation about? Glad you asked. Plot synopsis from ancientchinese.net: Qin's Moon tells the story of the rise and fall of the Qin Dnasty, the first Dynasty of China. During this time, six kingdoms were conquered by Qin in a ruthless takeover, with the new emperor forcing his subjects to follow his will and laws. The story follows a young boy, Tianming, who is hunted down by the Qin empire for reasons beyond his knowledge; and together with his friends, allies and teachers, will change the course of history.

As the story progresses fantasy, steampunk and history intertwine to tell this truly unique tale of courage during uncertain times. Tianming faces treacherous enemies, hope and loss, difficult relationships with both family and friends, and the challenges of deailing with a changing world. Eventually, a new era will be created out of their struggles for a better world.

(You can find torrents for the subbed first three seasons on ancientchinese.net or watch subbed eps here). There is also this great QM website and a QM tumblr.

Join me in my madness!

1. The awesome mookiehyun linked me to this 'action' teaser for Chu-Han Contention. Ahhhhhh! That is what I think of when I think of Chu-Han Contention, not Ming Dao and Joey Chen making romcom goo-goo eyes at each other as the most uncanon couple in history (no, I am not appalled at the Yong Zheng drama, why do you ask?). But then this is from the people who made Three Kingdoms, so they know their way around filming battles. Also, I didn't realize, but Ruby Lin has been cast as Yu Ji (for those unfamiliar with the story - that means she's Peter Ho's OTP and one of two leading ladies). I am...relieved. She's not my ideal Yu Ji (who would probably be Liu Shi Shi) but she's beautiful, age-appropriate and, while not someone who made me obsessed about her characters, never had me dislike a character of hers either. The only thing is...she's tiny. She will need a stepladder if there are to be any non-horizontal PDAs. LOL. Gives a whole new meaning to the Russian phrase of 'pocket wife.' Good thing I adore height differences.

Oh, and have another pic I found (thanks, spcnet!) of Peter Ho as Xiang Yu, BAMF of Ancient Times :P



2. I have no idea why I am anticipating Xuanyuanjian. It's the same type of drama/by the same people as Chinese Paladin 1, which I hated, and Chinese Paladin 3 (where I watched only for Wallace Huo and Tang Yan and their story). But! I cannot resist Hu Ge. Especially playing a baddie. A baddie with an OTP. Mmmmmm. Call me an eternal optimist. Plus, surely, some newbie dude who plays the hero Lin Geng Xin's hero (yes, BuBuJingXin's 14th Prince is the lead, and opposite Liu Shi Shi. 14/RuoXi shippers rejoice!) simply cannot be as annoying as Hu Ge's protagonist in CP3. Too bad LGX does zip for me (though maybe a little here, because he looks a bit like Eddie Peng in this get-up). But aaaaaaaah, Hu Ge! I am Team Bad Guy on this one.

The official MV sure is pretty and hits every one of my kinks:



I am amused that, once again, Hu Ge and Liu Shi Shi share a drama without being an OTP. WTF, Tangren? They have crazy chemistry. I spent a decent chunk of Chinese Paladin 3 wanting their brother-and-sister characters to tear each other's clothes off against the wall.



In conclusion, you can rule my world any time, Bad Guy!

I am following 8 currently airing dramas but the only one of those which I am truly unhealthily obsessed about is the doomed period romance The Princess' Man. And I just got my hands on subs for eps 3 and 4.

In honor of that, have a MV for eps 1-3:



Oh poor darlings. They couldn't be more doomed if they tried.

darkeyedwolf, where are you? This looks entirely up your alley.

Looooong trailer:



I have already been scouring both youtube and tudou for raws under its Chinese name. Proof of my insanity - it's likely to be 50 eps and I doubt it's ever getting subbed but I plan to watch the entire thing raw.

I have about 600 unanswered comments and I promise to get to them ASAP, but for now I am about to embark on a rewatch of one of my favorite movies of all time - El Cid with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, a grim and larger-than-life epic made in 1961. The story is about a Spanish nobleman and superb fighter (El Cid was a real historical individual) and his fight against corrupt Spanish noblemen, Islamic invaders (while made almost 50 years ago, the movie does distinguish between average/enlightened Muslims and the violent fanatics - it is the latter which El Cid fights and the latter which the native Muslim population itself is portrayed as not keen on. I appreciated the distinction), and anything that is against his unforgiving code of honor, including himself. At his side is his strong, fierce wife Chimene with whom he is locked in a love-hate relationship - she loves him (they were voluntarily engaged) but believes it is her duty to kill him because he fought and killed her father due to an insult to his own father's honor.



El Cid is very long - 3 hours - but I never feel as if I had to look at the clock. It manages to combine tragic romance, heroism and epic battles into an irresistible package. Its three "G"s (gorgeous, glorious, and grim) make me love it the way I love few other epics. Perhaps my love for it stems from my love of Icelandic sagas and Medieval epics - somehow it manages to get the same feel which one would get reading Chanson de Roland or Njal's Saga. It is based on the medieval chronicles about El Cid but it also owes a large debt to Pierre Corneille's famous play (which was my first exposure to the El Cid story).

I love Charlton Heston to bits in general - no man has ever been more suited to be in a larger-than-life epic or to portray unflinching, weary heroism - and he does not disappoint. Next to Ben Hur, this is my favorite role of his. I love El Cid for being an honest-to-goodness hero even as I pity him because his inability to bend or stay silent whenever he perceives anything against his too-rigid code utterly destroys his life. I love Chimene (but have I ever not loved Sophia Loren in anything?) because she is strong and smart and someone who is "allowed" the typically male prerogatives of honor and revenge. The complicated chemistry between El Cid and Chimene burns the screen. I love the weak, complicated King Alfonso and his strong, possibly incestuous sister Urraca. I love the look and feel of the movie.

It's not exactly a feel-good story, perhaps the opposite, but it really is something that emotionally draws me in. The modern movie I can think of that comes closest to the feeling is Kingdom of Heaven, but Balian is both more naive and a lot luckier.

Have a MV:



By the way, is anyone interested if I make old movies a semi-regular feature of this LJ? They have always been one of my loves. I know this LJ is rather drama-centric but in real life, dramas are only one of my many interests, and I'd like to talk about the others too.

I have about 600 unanswered comments and I promise to get to them ASAP, but for now I am about to embark on a rewatch of one of my favorite movies of all time - El Cid with Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren, a grim and larger-than-life epic made in 1961. The story is about a Spanish nobleman and superb fighter (El Cid was a real historical individual) and his fight against corrupt Spanish noblemen, Islamic invaders (while made almost 50 years ago, the movie does distinguish between average/enlightened Muslims and the violent fanatics - it is the latter which El Cid fights and the latter which the native Muslim population itself is portrayed as not keen on. I appreciated the distinction), and anything that is against his unforgiving code of honor, including himself. At his side is his strong, fierce wife Chimene with whom he is locked in a love-hate relationship - she loves him (they were voluntarily engaged) but believes it is her duty to kill him because he fought and killed her father due to an insult to his own father's honor.



El Cid is very long - 3 hours - but I never feel as if I had to look at the clock. It manages to combine tragic romance, heroism and epic battles into an irresistible package. Its three "G"s (gorgeous, glorious, and grim) make me love it the way I love few other epics. Perhaps my love for it stems from my love of Icelandic sagas and Medieval epics - somehow it manages to get the same feel which one would get reading Chanson de Roland or Njal's Saga. It is based on the medieval chronicles about El Cid but it also owes a large debt to Pierre Corneille's famous play (which was my first exposure to the El Cid story).

I love Charlton Heston to bits in general - no man has ever been more suited to be in a larger-than-life epic or to portray unflinching, weary heroism - and he does not disappoint. Next to Ben Hur, this is my favorite role of his. I love El Cid for being an honest-to-goodness hero even as I pity him because his inability to bend or stay silent whenever he perceives anything against his too-rigid code utterly destroys his life. I love Chimene (but have I ever not loved Sophia Loren in anything?) because she is strong and smart and someone who is "allowed" the typically male prerogatives of honor and revenge. The complicated chemistry between El Cid and Chimene burns the screen. I love the weak, complicated King Alfonso and his strong, possibly incestuous sister Urraca. I love the look and feel of the movie.

It's not exactly a feel-good story, perhaps the opposite, but it really is something that emotionally draws me in. The modern movie I can think of that comes closest to the feeling is Kingdom of Heaven, but Balian is both more naive and a lot luckier.

Have a MV:



By the way, is anyone interested if I make old movies a semi-regular feature of this LJ? They have always been one of my loves. I know this LJ is rather drama-centric but in real life, dramas are only one of my many interests, and I'd like to talk about the others too.

You cannot possibly imagine my shock when ep 4 of I Am Legend had the characters do a Korean cover of a famous Russian song Million Roses, sung originally by Alla Pugacheva (the story of the song about a painter who sold all he owned to buy the object of his affection a million roses).

Have the song:

I just started the utterly adorable I Really Really Like You, a 34-ep kdrama about a spunky hillbilly (Eugene) who becomes a cook at the Blue House (i.e. the President's residence) who ends up in a love triangle with President's unhappily married son (Ryu Jin) and the presidential bodyguard (Lee Min Ki).

So far, one ep in, it's really really cute! Btw, the bodyguard is her OTP.