Musings of the Obsessive Kind
She's a mite whimsical in the brainpan.
Musings of the Obsessive KindShe's a mite whimsical in the brainpan. |
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| Oct. 25th, 2009 @ 10:37 pm Dangermousie's kdrama rankings post, part 4. With summaries, reasons, pics and vids | |||
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Current Mood:
This is yet another in my series of "Dangermousie ranks all the kdramas she has ever seen" posts. (I have seen over 70 kdramas and, being addicted to ranking, have decided to rank them all). For previous posts go here. Below the cut are dramas ranked 40-30: these range from dramas I like a lot to dramas I love. All of them have flaws that keep them from higher rankings but all of them are dramas I would have no hesitation in recommending. Once again, I have either finished these dramas entirely or finished enough to make up my own mind. content( Best friends, warrior princesses, single mothers, and nuns: if you do not like their stories, the heroines of these dramas will cut off your heads and then pray over the bodies ) Until next time :) | |||
| Apr. 28th, 2009 @ 11:12 pm One big giant puppy-dog awwww | |||
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I want to basically BITCHSLAP most of the hero's family in Marrying a Millionaire. Seriously. (Ahhh, rage at kdrama families, how I missed you!) Our hero is sweet and hard-working but not too bright (about which more below). He's also working hard for his high-school equivalency diploma (with dubious success) as he's never graduated from high school due to family trouble. And? His family, with the exception of the youngest brother, treats him like a retarded errand boy. They insult him to his face, make him run errands which they can easily do themselves because his studying is not important as he will fail anyway, and did I mention that he works about a billion jobs to support his obnoxious older brother and father, who do not work and whose fault it is he didn't get to finish high school? His father charmingly says it's all the kid's fault: nobody made him work so hard and he wouldn't have finished high school anyway as he ain't too bright. *gnash teeth* No wonder he keeps the little love confession note the heroine wrote to him in middle school in his wallet - I don't think he got much in the way of self-esteem boosts in his life. Actually, a bit of a tangent - I sort of like the gender reversal trope here - our hero is basically in the position usually occupied by a kdrama heroine. How many sweet-natured and hard-working but rather not-too-bright (dummy with the heart of gold) and not treated well by their family heroines do kdramas have? Dozens and dozens. Here the heroine is the smarter one, the sharper one, the more ruthless one, the one with the temper. (She is also poor btw). In fact, his long-term idealization of her stems from a total misunderstanding. They went to middle-school together and she liked him and put a love letter in his locker. But then she found out he was a dummy. It was too late to withdraw the letter but luckily for her, she moved away before she had to do anything about it. He, however, thinks she gave it to him while knowing he wasn't very smart (I hasten to add he is not retarded or anything. Just not particularly book-smart) and thinks of her as a total angel. And here we get the premise of the show: she got laid off for bawling out her boss protecting her stepsister. And she desperately needs money to repay her stepmother's bank loan. He, of course, needs money too. And here comesa TV producer who needs to 'cast' his reality show where eight women compete for the love of a gorgeous millionaire. What the women wouldn't know (but the viewing audience would) is that the guy is a poor fake - which the 'lucky' lady finds out once she accepts the marriage proposal. Our hero is perfect for the task - he is poor, good-looking (one of his part-time jobs even now is based on looks. Yay for the drama acknowledging the lead's good looks), and looks like someone the audience will like and not hate. And our heroine? Well, if she enters the show she might get some cash - she knows the truth of the guy not being rich though, obviously. And we are set... I mainly got it because I adore Go Soo (who plays the male lead here, and does it well, a s always. He first came to my notice starring in the excellent revenge super-hit drama Green Rose. I recommend it).But the whole drama is totally cute so far. Here is a MV: And for good measure, a Green Rose MV. I can't rec it enough - it's basically Count of Monte Cristo set in modern Korea. Also, super-angsty and full of REVENGE. Hmmm, I really should watch Piano, the one with the stepsibling love that he is in. | |||
| Jun. 3rd, 2008 @ 03:09 pm Dangermousie’s Top Dozen Most Surprising Drama Happy Endings | |||
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Since Powerful Opponents made me think about drama endings. Now, we all know about those infamous ‘last minute unhappy endings’ which seem to be tacked on to inflict utmost misery (Glass Slippers’ infamous ending, I am looking at you) or those dramas which would pretty clearly end happily as are giggle-fest or unhappily, as they involve hot people with terminal illnesses.  coldBut how about that rare yet delightful category of dramas: surprising happy endings. Not ones that could have gone either way (Smile Again, QSS) but ones you did not expect at all. Behind the cut are Dangermousie’s Top Dozen Most Surprising Happy Endings. ( My Dozen Here ) | |||
| May. 1st, 2008 @ 10:06 am Resurrection... | |||
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Has anyone on my flist seen Resurrection, a kdrama starring Uhm Tae Woong (in a double role!) and Han Ji Min. Because I love the thought of them as the leads (UTW was awesome in Mawang and HJM was a darling in Capital Scandal), and it's by the makers of Mawang, and it's supposed to be good and have a complicated plot. Plus, look at the cool MV: And it's all about disguises and vengeance etc. But...does it have a happy ending? I mean is it a revenge story that's like Green Rose (yay happy at the end! even if needing therapy :P) or Mawang ('brrrrrring out your dead'). Which? | |||
| May. 25th, 2007 @ 11:50 pm Last Post before I go incommunicado for the weekend... | |||
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Re: ROCH. omfg, she got raped???? But she thinks it was YG and he is clueless and so she thinks he is a total bastard and leaves? And he is off searching for her (still no clue). cheerfulLady, I know you are unworldly, but if you are in the middle of the woods, why do you assume the guy coming upon you is YG if a. you never slept together before b. he puts a blindfold on and c. has YG ever been able to keep his mouth shut? Finished Green Rose a few days back. It was excellent throughout and (surprisingly) didn’t drag at the end despite its 22 episodes. ( Spoilery thoughts ) Also, am obsessed with Return of the Condor Heroes. If you want to check it out, I actually recommend going straight to the fourth ep and going from there, as the stuff before it is pure back story and features a kid that might drive you up the wall in annoyance (he didn’t bug me enough to really piss me off but I have huge tolerance for bratty kids, fictional or otherwise, and I still had no interest in him) and no male hotties. So getting through the first few eps is actually kinda a hard slog especially if you are like me and are unfamiliar with the (very famous in China) novel so you are going ‘huh? Who is this? What is his/her name? How are they related to him/her?’ etc. But starting with ep 4, Hunk of Hunkiness is here (seriously, how did such an unappealing-looking kid with awful hair grow up into such a gorgeous guy with yummy hair? If that’s a side benefit of kung-fu, everyone should be mandated to study it), the pace slows down appropriately, and there is chemistry with his Teacher-OTP and angst and torture and shirtlessness…what was I saying? Sorry, I spaced out staring at him again. All you need to know from the first three eps is that our protagonist Yang Guo was dumped by his guardian at some monk school for training but he and the monks fit together like oil and water* so he ran away and hid in a cave where the Lady of the Cave taught him incredible martial arts skills. And now he is grown up and the proper story is about to start aka they are going to fall in love (though I am not sure if she is mortal. In any event, she is five or so years older than him but she always looks the same as a side-effect of her ‘arts’) and there will be angst as it is MONDO forbidden. *Honestly, the monks are loser jerks, but I can see why that kid would drive them up the wall. He was a total brat. ETA: Jeeeeee-zus. The thread for ROCH at d-addicts is 85 pages. That never happens for non-Japanese series over there. Whoa. Filming shot:  ( couple more filming shots ) And because Lee Dong Wook is arguably the most gorgeous kdrama guy out there: ( Yummy LDW pic ) | |||
| May. 21st, 2007 @ 09:19 pm Green Rose, Which Star Are You From, and watchlist ramblings | |||
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Who knew that a bare brush of the hands would leave me squeeing incoherently, like a 12 year old? busyGreen Rose has a certain emotional restraint, almost Victorian in its repression, in the scenes between Jung-Hyun and Soo-Ah, two lovers reuniting after three years apart, but with neither being able (for plot and emotional reasons) to openly acknowledge the other that just… Just… OK. I am incoherent again. ( Spoilery babbling ) OK, oh no. Another kdrama entered contention for my next big drama watch. Which Star Are You From with Kim Rae Won (the kissing fiend, all his dramas have a lot of kissing, LOL). Argh. At this rate, I am going to go a bit nutty trying to narrow it down. Dramas are evil for a person with a short attention span and grabby tendencies, like me. I keep spinning ‘this one next, or this one, or that one?’ I’ll make myself wait though. This one is in my Top 10 ‘to watch soon’ kdramas though. But these pictures make it hard:  ( More pics ) So far, the Ten ‘soonest watched’ kdramas are (order fluid and changes every day :D) ( Lengthy watchlist ramblings ) | |||
| May. 21st, 2007 @ 12:08 am Dramas of a Sunday evening... | |||
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Am through episode 19 of Green Rose which continues to be very good. I especially loved ( otp spoiler ) contentI decided to take a little break from that drama then because I can't marathon without a break and, in interests of clearing my drama slate, I continued my watch of Love Story in Harvard. Finished ep 5. The law stuff in it makes my head hurt more even than the English, I am not super keen on the leading lady (she is OK but she doesn't make me love her like most of kdrama heroines do) and at least so far, it's a bit too fluffy, but: 1. Kim Rae Won is full of adorable. He is so full of adorable, he covers the rest of the cast. And Hyon-Woo is one of those rare well-adjusted laid-back, fun guys you see so rarely as protagonists in drama. He'd actually be someone fun to date in RL. 2. KISSING. OMG, the first kiss ('touchdown!') was the most adorable kdrama first kiss ever. And the way they kiss in the bathroom and giggle and everything and she is all 'I need to brush teeth first' is...so cute. They arean incredibly functional OTP. (Though girl, if KRW is opening his mouth to kiss you, at least pretend to open yours, don't hold your lips together so tightly, it looks weird). Anyhow, once I am done with GR, my drama slate is confusing. Should I: 1. Rewatch Goong or My Girl, one of dramas I adore 2. Watch a wuxia drama 3. Watch a Lee Dong Gun drama 4. Watch Lovers. Heeeeelp :) (And I am not even mentioning the other ones I have). | |||
| May. 18th, 2007 @ 12:25 am Green Rose: going into my Korean drama Top 10 | |||
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OMG. cheerfulGreen Rose. GREEN ROSE. I am now on episode 15 and oh how you own me more and more with each episode. You are like anti-Loveholic in that you get better and better with each episode. And is it humanly possible for Jung-Hyun to get more masculine and determined and tortured all at once with each ep? Apparently it is. Oh GOD. It is perfect. ( Ramblings on the eps ) | |||
| May. 16th, 2007 @ 09:46 pm Drama Gleeeeeee | |||
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First off, OMG OMG OMG! calmLegend of Butterfly Lovers, a 41 ep Chinese drama that just aired, is actually getting subbed.  And subs for first three eps are out in its soompi thread! I am so watching! How can you go wrong with star-crossed doomed love, a period setting, cool costumes, cross-dressing (girl as boy) etc etc. OMG. More coherent synopsis (from soompi): A beautiful girl disguises herself as a man and lives under one roof with a young male scholar for three years without revealing her true identity. They become "sworn brothers," soul mates and lovers. In a world in which marriage is determined by social status and arranged by parents, what is their inescapable Romeo-and-Juliet-type of fate? ( Larger pic behund cut ) Btw, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} meganbmoore, did you know that they are fliming Gentle Crackdown 2? (I haven’t seen the first one, but I think you really liked it). Currently I am through episode 12 of Green Rose and yeah, it’s as good as ever. I really like the twisty (and not dumb) plotting of trying to clear Go Soo’s name. He was hot as a sweet, upright worker. He was hotter as a messed up, tortured and desperate woobie. But as the clever, determined nemesis? That’s definitely for the win in the hotness stakes. But yeah, I love the fact that he has this awesome ragtag team of helpers: the goofy guy from China for sneakiness, his impassive bodyguard for efficiency and also sneakiness, the secretary girl for the femme fatale touch and his best friend to help break into places :) Plus the honest awesome lawyer investigator on the periphery. ( Brief OTP comments ) In other news, Hello Miss! is adorable. And so is Lee Ji Hoon. But I don’t like the ‘other guy,’ the womanizer cousin. He is too casually mean. | |||
| May. 14th, 2007 @ 12:49 am Largely about the sexiness of revenge... | |||
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I watched the Indian movie Life in a...Metro (also known simply as 'Metro') in the theater today. contentIt's about the lives of about ten or so people intersecting in Mumbai and I loved every bit of it and will meta about it later but am soon to go to bed so that will have to wait (I will mention that driving back blazing Glay was very fun ;)) And I've restarted my watch of kdrama Green Rose (am on ep 11) and even though it is not primarily a romance drama (it's about a falsely accused man who is believed to be dead but comes back powerful, three years later, to clear his name and find out who framed him and why and avenge himself), the OTP of this one keeeeeels me dead, what with him having to pretend to be someone else to her even as it kills him and her half pretending to believe him and half believing him and the coded conversations where they really can't say what they want and the way they devour each other with their eyes and she is the only thing that can bring him to his knees (figuratively and literally). So awesome. Go Soo is also BLOODY HOT all broody in black and Lee Da Hae is so beautiful, but that is by the by.  ( A lot more pics ) | |||
| Apr. 5th, 2007 @ 10:32 pm Drama babble... | |||
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Current Mood:
Hmmm, is it just me or is it funny (as in ‘odd’ not ‘hilarious’) that in both dramas that Jae Hee has done (Delightful Girl Chun-Hyang and now Witch Yoo Hee), he is paired with a really intelligent, strong-willed heroine? Of course, Chun-Hyang is normal and not uber-bitch like Yoo Hee (in fact that characters don’t have much in common), but they are both successful, bossy, and suffer no fools.  chipperThe ending of DGCH just feels me with so much glee and really, for some odd reason makes me think of that quote from LM Bujold’s Miles books, where they refer to Cordelia as ‘The Admiral’s Captain’ (Cordelia is one of my favorite fictional heroines, and can be downright scary, and the Admiral in question is Aral Vorkosigan, her very very powerful husband). Because seriously, I can just see Mong-Ryong and Chun-Hyang after the drama ends. He will be this totally alpha, fearsome DA who takes down organized crime and kicks people’s heads in and is all tough and everything, but then he’ll get home and Chun-Hyang will totally boss him, and the thing I love is he will totally let her, not because he is spineless, but precisely because he has nothing to prove and he is very proud of his clever, bossy, strong-willed wife. And it would totally amuse him, too. And in other drama news, I bring you some pics from My Love Patzzi, cute if not spectacular drama I am watching right now. Hmmmm, this is good as a ‘relax’ period, but I think I need to do a poll for which drama to start watching that will make me obsessed next.  ( My love Patzzi ) And I think I just found my next 'obsession' drama after the rest period of watching My Love Patzzi. I just got my hands on Snow White (also known as Taste Sweet Love). OMG!!! Bad boy Lee Wan. Trumps it all. I found this MV for it on youtube. I dislike country music, so the soundtrack for the vid drives me bonkers, but the vid itself is cut really well and you can totally see the awesomeness of SW. Just hit the mute button for the MV soundtrack if you are country-allergic :) ( Vid here ) And because I will always love and obssess over My Girl (the way I love and obssess over Goong), here is a cute My Girl MV I found. Once again, not too keen on the song but the MV is cute: ( Vid here ) And to end things on an awesome note (here I love the MV and the song), here is MV for Green Rose, which is the first drama of my 'incomplete' list I will restart: ( MV here ) | |||
| Jan. 15th, 2007 @ 12:19 pm Akira! Jung-Hyun! I love my dorama men! | |||
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Clubbox is not scary any more! Clubbox is not scary any more! Clubbox is not scary any more! YES! I've used it and lived to tell the tale. Though learning how to use a site entirely in Korean just so I could see something a few hours sooner probably indicates sad things about me. contentHmmm. I think it's a bit weird that the two dramas I'd love to mainline are Hana Kimi and Hana Yori Dango 2, but I can't do that as they are currently airing. While the two dramas I am actively watching and have all the eps for, Nobuta Wo Produce and Green Rose, I have no desire to marathon as I like them but don't love them. NwP is a drama I admire more than I love. It's intelligent and well-acted but it lacks a strong narrative drive so I am perfectly fine with watching an episode here and there. There is no urgency to the characters and their situation so there is no urgency to my watching of them. I also confess to ffing on 2x (so I can read the subs) a lot of scenes that don't have Yamapi in them because Shuji and Nobuko are well acted but fail to really grab me. I guess NwP confirms it. I adore romantic angst (just look at my top dramas: e.g. Mars, Pride, My Girl, A Love to Kill, Meteor Garden, Goong). I love sword-fighting and period intrigue. And I really enjoy cracky comedy, if romantic comedy, all the better, but it's fine even if not. If the drama is not one of the above? I might like it, but it will fail to really obsess me. And thus it is with NwP. ( Akira spoiler ) And then there is Green Rose. I have finished ep 10 out of 22. I am enjoying it a lot, even if no marathonning because it's 22 eps, so like a lot of Korean dramas after a bang-up start it settles towards a somewhat slow middle. I don't mind, but because of the more leisurely pace, by urgency is also lessened. And there is a lot of boring business talk, and a bunch of secondary characters I couldn't care less for. But the OTP? OTP makes up for it all. When there is OTP interaction, I die and squee and go to heaven, but I want more. But what there is, is stellar. ( OTP spoilers ) | |||
| Jan. 12th, 2007 @ 11:49 am Largely swooning about The Painted Veil | |||
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Current Mood:
I went and saw The Painted Veil yesterday. anxiousBased on Somerset Maugham’s novel, TPV is set in 1930s China, and follows Kitty (Naomi Watts), an upper-class Englishwoman, who ends up in a rural, cholera-ridden area of the country, after her bacteriologist husband Walter Fane (Edward Norton) offers her a choice between going with him or divorce for adultery. There, Kitty and Walter discover love for each other, and a lot of sick people, and some cool nuns. I LOVED IT. LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT LOVED IT. And not just because you see a lot of unclad Edward Norton :D smartylibrarian, if you are interested, I don't mind watching it again.( Spoilers for the movie ) I’ve also watched the ending of Long Vacation (the jdrama) and OMG, cute!! ( Spoilers ) And here are some thoughts on Green Rose, eps 5 and 6. ( Green Rose thoughts ) I cannot WAIT until Hana Yori Dango 2 ep. I want the dl to be here yesterday! :) I read spoilers for the ep as it already aired in Japan, and gleeeeee. Someone on the hanadan comm has a text icon that says 'apples make your hair fall off' and every time I see it, I giggle. I want my fix, now! Oh, and thank you everyone for Friday Night Lights rec. I’ll definitely check it out. | |||
| Jan. 10th, 2007 @ 02:50 pm Happy Wednesday! | |||
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1. When I walked into the office today, there was a dozen mutli-colored roses in a vase on my desk. Mr. Mousie has ordered them 'just because' because he told me on last Valentine's Day he'd pick four random days of the year to get me flowers. I am still giddy. 2. I have finished Tatta Hitotsu No Koi and there was weeping and squee. There will be long meta too, but later because I really need to collect myself. 3. Times I have rewatched Makino and Domyouji reunion in New York City scene? Eight so far. Times I've watched it today? Once. It's what I do before I leave for the day. Yeah, I need help. I turn it off as soon as they open their mouths though because, to quote alexandral, 'my poor heart.'4. Green Rose continues to be amazing and I will meta on it shortly, but for now (in the middle of ep 5), I will just take time to note that Jung-Hyun might be falsely accused, on the run from prison, utterly broke, with a dead mother and never being able to be with the woman he loves, but throughout it all, he manages to maintain amazing skin. Those prison moisturizers must be awesome. Yeah, let's look at the positives. 5. I keep impatiently waiting for Friday for a new Hana Yori Dango episode. Seriously, counting the days. Just the thought of there being more, soon, and Fridays, feels me with glee. Haven't been like that since early Veronica Mars. Even though it will be hardsubbed so I'll have to re dl, I definitely plan to get raws. 6. I am reading Valentine by George Sand, and it's a fun book, but I must say I am amused at the whole 'ooooh, Grandma is too vulgar, Valentine is delicate with womanly modesty and not wanting to cheat on her husband with her OTP' considering Sand's personal life. I guess it's a case of 'do as I say, not as I do.' I think I prefer Musset's Child of the Century, though I remember the protagonist being overly-emo. 7. I am watching The Painted Veil later in the week. Edward Norton! SQUEE! 8. ( This awesome Star Wars cartoon still makes me smile ) 9. Because I can. ( Ponies ) 10. Nothing. Why should ten be a special number? Abolish the tyranny of the decimal system! | |||
| Jan. 5th, 2007 @ 11:46 am Ten Reasons Friday Rocks. Wherein shoes figure prominently. | |||
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1. I have new shoes. Bought at Nine West. They have huge heels, are light brown, laquered, open toed, and GORGEOUS. My excuse? I realized I have no brown shoes at all. Not that many shoes, period, mainly boots and sandals. Time to shoe-shop! My shoes are a cross between this shoe (only it has a strap across) and this shoe (that's the kind of strap they have) (only of course they are light brown in color, not light pink or pastel). I keep randomly staring at my feet. The heels are at least 3.5 inches and the best thing is, they are the exact shade as my coat. eeeee! 2. alexandral posted an awesome Hyun Bin (Korean actor) picspam here. 3. This evening, klmorgan and I are having a Fushigi Yuugi marathon. Tamahomeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!4. Yesterday, when I stopped by CVS, they had my favorite ice-cream (half the time they are out): Haagen-Datz's vanilla with chocolate covered almonds. It's safely stashed in the fridge now, but I can still hear its siren song. 5. Wallflower manga OWNS me and Kyohei is my newest fictional crush. He is violently awesome (or is it 'awesomely violent'). I love the bit in volume 2 where the guys get kidnapped by a murderess (but a real lady, as they are quick to point out, LOL) ghost who's taken posession of Sunako and so she chains them all up in basement, dresses them in s&m-y attire, to have her wicked way with them and kill them (yes, it's official, the mangaka LOVES s&m. Half her face panels feature Kyohei behind bars or in cuffs). But Kyohei burns his way through the ropes and then decides that the best way to get Sunako to kick the ghost out and retake posession of her body is to kiss her. Because she'll flip so much. And he is right! Heeeeee. And he ends up carrying her (wrapped in a blanket) the steep way out of the basement, which is AWESOME. And then the guys (who seem permanently strapped for cash) decide that the gear the ghost put them in would totally sell well and complain about the clothes and Kyohei is all 'I am the one who looks like a freak, in all these chains' ROFL. I really hope if Sunako and Kyohei ever really hook up, they never have any kids, because OMG, scary parents. And I have volumes and volumes to go! 6. Green Rose also owns me. Ep 4, with the desperation, and the angst, and hotness? YES. 7. First ep of Hana Yori Dango 2 aired earlier today in Japan and the torrent will be up soon and I read spoilers and *glee* 8. There is a person in Malaysia I could hug right now. Just before I left the house this morning, a FedEx person showed up. Inside the package? Even though I ordered less than a week ago? My delicious, shiny, shrink-wrapped DVDs of Tatta Hitotsu No Koi (Just One Love) which I unwrapped and checked, and yes indeed, they have shiny Chinese, Malay and perfect English (!!!!!) subtitles. (Oddly, the pic quality, while fine enough, is not as crisp as my dls, but I don't care). OMG. Bye, weekend! 9. Brunch on Sunday. I missed having brunch in this cool Belgian place and that is where I'll be heading. Or maybe this little place that does (among other things) oatmeal souffles (to die for). Or a Swedish place with some amazing salmon dishes. I love brunch and we haven't gone out to one for a while. But we will this time. 10. Jasper Fforde's Jack Spratt Nursery Crime books. Just discovered, instantly beloved... YES. | |||
| Jan. 4th, 2007 @ 11:44 pm Green Rose is killing me | |||
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Oh God. I had to pause Green Rose because I couldn't stop crying. Frell. You poor darlings. ( Spoilers for ep 3 ) ETA: And now I hyperventilate. ( spoilers for ep 3 ) | |||
| Jan. 4th, 2007 @ 10:40 pm Green Rose and Wallflower: OTPs rock! | |||
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Green Rose has eaten my brain. Green Rose owns me, body and soul. Only two episodes in, I've swooned, smiled, and bawled my frelling eyes out. Things would have been thrown at the screen, only that would interrupt the viewing. Go Soo (it's the first thing I've seen him in) is awesome. He is gorgeous in a very masculine way, but he isn't just a pretty face. And Lee Da Hae? She is amazing. And beautiful. And the soundtrack? It just might be my very favorite drama soundtrack. That theme song just kills me. Kills me kills me kills me dead. Oh, kdramas! Jung-Hyun (Go Soo's character) is my newest dorama crush. ( Blabbery spoilers for ep 2 ) I checked the ratings of this puppy out of curiousity, and at its peak, this was drawing over 30% (!!!). And I can see why. In other news, I finished Wallflower volume 1, and EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!! MAD LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now I need to get all the volumes ASAP. Sunako and Kyohei are totally my newest OTP. So off the wall, so weird (and violent. Boy, the two of them can kick the butt of half of Japan :D), so will kill anyone who will hurt the other. I totally love the bit where she decides to kill him and he finds out about it, so when she shows up in his room, he is all suave and seductive and she goes all wibbly. Heeeeee. I love how he is the only one not phased by her, and doesn't think she needs to change but finds her self-pity (when she has it) ridiculous. They are both human bulldozers. And yet he is totally right, and his approach draws her out when other things don't. And when she does her 'I am melting' thing around him? ROFL. I love it that she plans to kill him because he is 'too much a creature of light' (heeeee) and yet the moment they find out he's been chloroformed and kidnapped by the host club cum brothel, she goes psycho nuclear (even freaking out the guys) stating they need to get him back. Heck, she even agrees to use a hairbrush and make-up. :D And I love how her excuse is that she is the one who needs to kill him, so the host club guys can't have him. Denial is a nice place to live (of course, he goes equally ballistic whenever anyone tries to harm her: witness him beating up all those photographer guys and wrapping her in a blanket. eeeeeee). And I love that when she and the three other guys (in drag heeeee) sneak into the club and there is Kyohei, all tied up (what is with the mangaka and s&m? First we get some random fangirl's comment that she'd like to put handcuffs on Kyohei. To be fair, that's the only way one could get Kyohei to do what he didn't want to do. And then we get this, where he is tied up, handcuffed, blindfolded and gagged, and being sold into temporary sexual slavery? Hmmmmm). And clients are bidding on him and Sunako gets more and more ballistic and when the auction is over and he is auctioned off to someone or other, she can't wait any more and OMG. The girl is SCARY. She basically trashes the club and they have to prevent her from killing people. She is only capable of this when Kyohei is involved, heh. And then she is all her crazy self and Kyohei hugs her and sort of kisses her hair (?) and tells her thanks and she is sort of a puddle. Heeeeeee. And she decides she won't kill him because somehow it feels like a waste? ROFL. Heh, at the end of the volume she does come down as a lady (in part because of what Kyohei told her. I love that he knows how to get to her). But of course reverts to her sloppy, slasher movie loving self immediately afterwards. LOVE. | |||
| Jan. 2nd, 2007 @ 09:32 am Green Rose: Revenge, Korean style. And some other youtube vids | |||
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Current Location: Back home. Yay!
So, Green Rose. Korean drama about revenge, impossible love, and color-challenged flowers. meganbmoore wanted meta.An episode and a half in I am getting a Count of Monte Cristo vibe. Or a A Love to Kill one. Starring the very hot Go Soo as the protagonist Lee Jung-Hyun and Lee Da Hae (who was awesome as the very different Yu-Rin in My Girl) as Oh Soo-Ah, his impossible, 'cannot be' love.  I knew I was going to love it from the chaotic, awesome opening, one of the best drama openings I've seen. As the drama opens, we are thrown in the middle of action: a young, desperate man (who we later will learn is Lee Jung-Hyun), chased by the police, dashes into a car decorated for a wedding and a crazy, high-speed, grim chase ensues, with the man getting more and more desperate, more and more cut off at every road. Finally, he is trapped on a bridge, police cars one way, snipers with guns another. As the policeman tries to negotiate, the man yells for no one to come closer, and climbs on the railing of the very tall bridge, as the policean continues to futily reason with him not to kill himself. With one last glance around him, the man jumps in, rather than be captured. And as he falls into the water, we hear his quiet voice over: "And so at 26 years and 8 months, I drowned in the cold Han River. Some will be sad and some won't, and I wonder who will be which" and it flashes to various people, prominent among them lovely, smiling Soo-Ah. And then we go into a flashback of a year ago. Jung-Hyun and his friend, whose name escapes me, just got hired by the industrial giant AS Electronics, and are celebrating. At the same bar, there is a lovely, but very drunk girl (Soo-Ah) who is insulting about AS Electronics ('they eat nice people like you alive') but who borrows money from Jung-Hyun to pay her tab. That is the end of it, until the start date at AS where all the new hires are at some morality building training in the mountains, and who does Jung-Hyun see as a fellow new hire? Soo-Ah. Who is abrasive to him but ends up being paired with him and his friend in some sort of mountain survival exercise (presumably for team-building, but all I know, I don't want to be hired by a Korean corporation. I prefer nice training seminars in a warm room). During it, Soo-Ah falls down a snowy hill in the dark and because his friend is clearly panicking and they need help for Soo-Ah, Jung-Hyun sends his friend for help and stays with Soo-Ah. And here is where both she and I fall for him. Because he tells her they need to find shelter, they cannot stay here on slim hope friend will get somewhere there on time. She cannot walk, so he insists on carrying her on his back and they wander for ages. They eventually find a cabin, and he determines she has a dislocation. He tells her to count to three and twists it right on two, and he binds it and puts ice on it and gives her his coat, and touches her feet and is gentle and capable and manly and awesome. And did I mention, hot? No wonder, when Soo-Ah wakes up, she totally checks him out sleeping. Then it cuts to some time around a year later, where he is running, late for work. And wait, so is Soo-Ah. And both are giddy and breathless. Yes, folks, they are dating. And shock of shocks, his beloved mother likes her and even proposes for him. But it's kdrama, so you know horrible stuff is coming soon. I feel dread as he mentions that he wants to meet her father (she has no mother) and being upset that he's been dating her for almost a year but he's yet to meet her family. It's not an unreasomable request but Soo-Ah is strangely reluctant when she invites him for her father's birthday party. And he shows up, adorable in his best suit, and tie she bought for him, and a really elaborate present his Mom cooked for Soo-Ah's Dad. Only to realize he is in front of a giant mansion *bells of doom strike* And OMG, Soo-Ah's Dad is the Chairman of AS Electronics. Jung-Hyun is clearly out of place, ignored, his Mom's present neglected in a heap. The Chairman comes as close as it can be possible to cutting him entirely. So he picks up his present and leaves and there is this great scene of him just sitting quietly somewhere, methodically eating it all, so his Mom's love and effort won't be wasted. After that, he tells Soo-Ah that he wants to break up, because he is proud and this is impossible, but of course, they love each other, so no break up ensues (in fact, it's implied, they spend the night together), as we find out that Soo-Ah had to give up a lot of dreams in order to take over from her father in the future, and Jung-Hyun is the one dream she won't give up. She and Jung-Hyun will do their best to convince her father of the worthiness of their love. Meanwhile, her father (who is surprisingly not awful) has been planning to marry her to one of his VPs, who he finds out is a cheating slimeball. So he calls the VP to his house to tell him everything is off. It's easy to figure out what happens next. Easy if you've seen kdrama, that is. The VP gets an accomplice to call Jung-Hyun to the house at the same time, and there Jung-Hyun finds a dying Chairman, and a villa that's on fire. He rescues the old man at the risk of his own life (and ends up in a hospital) but the Chairman dies anyway. And guess who is framed for his murder? And so here is our set-up. Our formerly forthright, gentle hero, falsely accused of the murder of the father of the girl he loves. He will escape the watery grave we saw at the beginning, of course, and return to wreak revenge on all those who wrecked his life (his mother died, he lost his place in society, his beloved Soo-Ah hates him). But Soo-Ah and he cannot help but love each other even though they shouldn't....can you feel the awesomeness? I like both Lee Da Hae (radiant, but very different in her steely, reserved persona from the irrepresible joy of Yu-Rin) and Go Soo who portrays a kind, uncomplicated man who is forced to see his whole life die in front of his eyes and thus has to remake himself, but can't kill his feelings entirely. Interestingly, so far, a lot of this has been shot at night (outdoors or indoors). I am not sure if it's an artistic choice, but if it is, kudos, it really adds to the atmosphere. ( Behinds the cut are mvs for some other dramas I plan to watch in the near future, as an inducement for you to check them out ) | |||
| Jan. 1st, 2007 @ 04:55 pm HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!1 *toot toot toot* | |||
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Current Location: Home. Which is cool!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I am gleeful as the lovely Mr. Mousie got me (as New Year's presents) the DVDs of Tatta Hitotsu No Koi (English, Malay and Chinese subs) and Hello My Teacher (also known as Biscuit Teacher and Star Candy). Actually, he just told me that he knows I love dramas and get them on ebay so he got me a gift certificate to buy those. Also, I started Green Rose (an ep and a half in so far) and it's excellent. alexandral, it's rather A Love to Killish. And, an ep and a half in, all of a sudden, it's like a switch flipped on and I am madly in love with Nobuta Wo Produce. Especially Akira (though I like Shouji too). I can see what everyone sees in it, now. I have finished Jasper Fford's Thursday Next books and am reading a book about Theodore Roosevelelt's childhood. And I watched the Munnabhai sequel which was funny but not as good as the original. Did I miss any juicy Veronica Mars or Battlestar Galactica spoilers? Any fandom conflagrations (other than the anti-Wincest wank which, even though I don't care for Wincest myself, was nutty)? Oh, and I simply must get the Wallflower manga as I am in love with the anime. Also, two eps in I love Noi (the best friend) and am a mad S/K shipper. So yeah, still obsessive. I repeat, HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!! | |||
| Dec. 29th, 2006 @ 09:27 am Snow Queen! (And Green Rose) | |||
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Current Location: The beach. Woo-Hoo!
I have finally started watching Snow Queen. Ten minutes and I am in love. I mean, the whole set-up, of two really messed up individuals (and the heroine is probably terminally ill, too) is a bit A Love to Kill and a bit Mars and a lot everything else, so how could I not? Even on youtube, it looks awesome. I am also immediately in love with Tae-Woong (poor guy) and eeeeeee, that's a heck of an opening. Gorgeous men trekking through Lapland while quoting Hans Christian Andersen? Because they are looking for a girl? *dies* Chances that Bo Ra is dead and Tae Woong is about to be frozen to death in manner of OTP of A Love to Kill? Knowing kdrama, I place it at about 93%. But I feel even sorrier for the high school Tae Woong of the flashback because his life is about to be seriously, irrevocably messed up for no fault of his own. He is so serious, and dutiful and quietly nervous and lost in this new school that I....It's weird, but Hyun Bin is one of the very few actors where my first and instinctive emotional reaction is to want to give him a hug (as opposed to tackle him or similar). Plus, he is a math genius, people. A math genius. Who throws his life away out of guilt (undeservedly, IMO). With slash overtones with his dead friend, and class differences with Bo Ra and just the eye frelling....OMG. So I bring you ( Youtube music vids under cut ) Oh, and on my 'next kdrama to watch' list is Green Rose about a man unjustly framed for murder. Angst, revenge and OTP abounds. ( Some youtube mvs for Green Rose ) | |||
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