Rants and Weekly Raves #71 (RAWR)
kakashi: So many new KDramas this week!
JoAnne: Something is bound to catch your eye, right, Kakashi?
Let's hope so!!!
JoAnne: I could not stop laughing. I love Jang Nara, find her adorable and cute and compelling and able to handle a wide range of emotions and situations. Of course Jung Kyung Ho, well, everyone knows around here that he's one of our favorites no matter what he does or who he does it with - and going in I had every expectation that these two would be fantastic together and gee, surprise, surprise - they are fantastic together.
Aaaaaaaaand about 50% of people on my T-list dropped it in rage after episode 2 >:D
Really? This episode is less slapstick (which is fine by me) and deeper set-up, focusing on Jang Nara's character. We also meet the second male lead, who isn't someone I generally am interested in. The marriage gets knocked out of the running pretty quickly, so oh well to that. Of the four female friends, the one I actually LIKE the most is not Jang Nara, so we'll see how that plays out. I didn't see anything at all that should cause anyone to drop it in a rage, but I also don't see anything amazingly good. Jung Kyung Ho, though. See you next week, you sweetie.
It was because she immediately turned around and fell "in love" with somebody else - his friend at that - that caused people to throw hissy-fits. It is more than a bit unconventional, indeed. I still like it. I like everything that does not play by the standard KDrama book too much, so I'm sticking with this one for a bit as well.
Well obviously, she's not in love with him. She's committed to the idea that she must be in love in order to be happy - but not with just anyone, of course, it must be with the 'right' someone - he fits her check list, ergo, she's going to convince herself. How can someone get mad about that? Going in, wouldn't you understand that this is a necessary component of the story? It's actually pretty funny that people complain that 'drama characters don't make realistic choices' and then, when drama characters do actual human things for actual human reasons, they complain because it messes with their romanticized idea of what humans should do?
Jaehyus/Saki: I like
this show. I felt like cheering for all the characters, even the mean
girl. Also, nothing wrong with Mi Mo falling in love with someone. I
can understand her issues with her ex as well, and I super-sympathized
with the teacher friend when she prayed to meet someone with abs.
Because as you grow older, it's harder to get that! The shopping mall
friend, well, I can see how she found herself stuck, but I felt bad for
the guy who loved her that much and who got rejected only to see he'd be
humiliated with having to cancel a wedding a week away on top of
getting rejected. I thought she was stupid, to be honest.
I'm going to be checking this out. Haven't yet, though.
Is this subbed somewhere?
I saw it pop up on DF earlier.
They're not available yet, the subs, I watched it raw.
I've been going along with the
'Madam' option thinking there was a reason for it to be spelled
differently between the two businesses, but it is jarring, you're right.
As for the rest of it, if I had to choose between Happy Ending and
this one, I would choose this one to watch. For me, it's a more
interesting story. Far, far more interesting. I liked Happy Ending
because I liked the leads. I like this because I am interested in the
story, and it's a plus that I like the leads. I know each couple will
get together by the end (well, there is the Mirae's Choice effect to
consider) but unless I get tons and tons of JNR and JKH time together in
every single episode, I can guarantee you that Happy Ending will bore
me. This will not.
Yes, maybe I should keep an eye on it as well. It does linger in my thoughts longer than Happy Happy, that's for sure.
I'll give it the Jaekyung episodes next week, and then I'll probably drop it. Can't watch everything and I like One More Happy Ending more.
It's the one I'm most excited about, and yet, I've had no time to watch it!
So Bang Won went from Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. That's basically what happened the last two episodes.
I feel like I should know what that means, but I cheerfully admit to not having great interest in Star Wars. Behind on this. Wicked behind. Not even going to attempt to catch up behind. When I hit a slow patch, I guess.
Not exactly a hit, this one. And now cancelled at "only" 16 eps.
I understand Saki's discomfort. From the get-go, this drama has made me uncomfortable.
I keep forgetting. Is anyone watching, among PotUp?
I dunno...I liked it a lot at first but I only got through 6 episodes this weekend, and I kept falling asleep. I think this might be one of those 'watch an episode here and there, take a year to finish it' shows. Perhaps I'm protecting myself from the overwhelming desire I have to cut all those scraggly pieces off Baron Chen's head. Or the urge I have to tell both of them to stop pursing their mouths up like disapproving old biddies.
Ah, but Godfrey Gao did it SO much better...and yes, he was my favorite character in the books.
Maybe I'll watch the movie instead and skip the show :D
So, I went and watched the movie. And I must say ...... the TV show is trying to COPY the look of the movie so much, wow. They even cast similar looking actors!! The story however is equally bad, so I'm guessing it's the books, haha.
I read them all because I liked the world, and the books are better than the movie or the tv show, but yeah. It's not art, just fun.
So! They manage to keep absolutely NOTHING essential about the comic the same in this show. Lucifer has black hair and is British and ... an eloquent dick. He does own a club called Lux, okay, bravo, got that right. And yet ... it's undeniably a lot of fun. The Devil, who is bored and suddenly cares too much about humans - an unearthly beautiful detective (Lauren German), immune to his charms (which disturbs him, of course), an angel who is trying to get him back into hell (and hates him) ... and LA, full of crime, as always. Gonna watch!
I've been waiting for this - the pilot is already available? (well, officially, it's airing tonight, but it was already shown in full at Comicon last year, so it's available, yes) Hulu is only showing me clips, and I won't watch them so I can go in fresh. I don't even have the history of the comic books to inform me, since I've never been a comic book person. (Something about the layout is agitating to me.) I have heard of Morningstar as his last name before, so either it's out there in other things as part of the mythos, or I came into contact with your stories in some minor way.
Yes, Morningstar is his name: Morningstar is the meaning of Lucifer (the light-bringer in Latin), but even in Hebrew and in old Greek, the name of the devil (הֵילֵל / ἑωσφόρος) translates into "the shining one", "light bearer". Some associate this with the Venus, the brightest of "stars" we see in the morning (and sometimes in the evening). Even in very old (pre-Christian) mythology, the reason for his downfall is his pride. He was the brightest star/god/angel among them all, and believed he was superior. In short: Calling him Lucifer Morningstar is like calling you JoAnne JoAnne - but it sounds cool.
There you go, the minute you started talking about it it came back to me. Root word 'luc, lum, lux' etc... I remember loving finding out that the original meaning of lunatic was 'moonstruck' - a word used to describe someone who'd gone mad from being out under the light of the moon.
JoAnne: Something is bound to catch your eye, right, Kakashi?
Let's hope so!!!
New Shows
One More Happy Ending
Yes, if I were in the mood for a Korean rom-com, I'd definitely watch this. Everybody can act, it is about grown-up topics and grown-up feelings, Jang Nara (I have this unconfirmable inkling that she is the Korean actress with the most female fans) is as endearing as always and Paksa is Paksa, we love him forever, only he is not Paksa in this at all, but we don not care, because Jung Kyoung-Ho has such a great screen presence and I just like his style and this character is SO ADORABLE. Finally, this is very, very funny, too! Who else is getting Sex and the City-feels? Maybe it will get lucky and stays good until the end?
Aaaaaaaaand about 50% of people on my T-list dropped it in rage after episode 2 >:D
Really? This episode is less slapstick (which is fine by me) and deeper set-up, focusing on Jang Nara's character. We also meet the second male lead, who isn't someone I generally am interested in. The marriage gets knocked out of the running pretty quickly, so oh well to that. Of the four female friends, the one I actually LIKE the most is not Jang Nara, so we'll see how that plays out. I didn't see anything at all that should cause anyone to drop it in a rage, but I also don't see anything amazingly good. Jung Kyung Ho, though. See you next week, you sweetie.
Well obviously, she's not in love with him. She's committed to the idea that she must be in love in order to be happy - but not with just anyone, of course, it must be with the 'right' someone - he fits her check list, ergo, she's going to convince herself. How can someone get mad about that? Going in, wouldn't you understand that this is a necessary component of the story? It's actually pretty funny that people complain that 'drama characters don't make realistic choices' and then, when drama characters do actual human things for actual human reasons, they complain because it messes with their romanticized idea of what humans should do?
Neighborhood Hero
Let's talk about Park Shi-hoo. So, many people have vowed to not watch this because of him - and I understand that. I wanted to see whether I could watch him again after what happened and must say: I cannot. He disgusts me, which I found unfortunate. Simply because I can see that he (still) is a very good actor who does tortured emotions so, so well. And yet, this role is not something I want to see him in. I do not want to see him in the shower. I do not want to see him smile. And above all, I do not want to see him as "Hero". Apart from that, the story started off a bit sluggish and even without Park Shi-hoo, I might not have felt any true need to watch this. It's not OCN how I like it. (Dark, brutal and bloody)I'm going to be checking this out. Haven't yet, though.
Is this subbed somewhere?
I saw it pop up on DF earlier.
They're not available yet, the subs, I watched it raw.
Madame Antoine
Oh wow, so many people seem to hate this one! I don't. But ... ack, why another genius? No, even two! I'm so OVER genius anything, boooooring. In addition, Sung Joon's character is a total dick. We know that he is only a poor hurt boy, of course, but it's always dangerous to make your leads so unlikeable. Too much of it and any later catharsis will feel forced or fake. That said, the overall topic ("reading people") is interesting (though hardly new ... there is tons of dramas like "The Mentalist" on US TV and Korea recently had Dr. Frost) and there were a few other things here and there that intrigued me about the drama (most of all the dynamic between the leads). Things to worry about: this is the writer who gave us "Mirae's choice". Also, it's a bit all over the place, though, and there are too many clichés, but ... it's not bad. Sadly, I'm not much into Sung Joon, and because my time is very limited, I will not keep up with this. Also: Get You Signs Right!!!! It's spelled MadamE Antoine!! Not Madam Antoine. Unless you mean the English madam, which you don't.
Yes, maybe I should keep an eye on it as well. It does linger in my thoughts longer than Happy Happy, that's for sure.
I'll give it the Jaekyung episodes next week, and then I'll probably drop it. Can't watch everything and I like One More Happy Ending more.
Signal
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| None of them look like this in this drama, but it's still really good |
Oh, Signal, let me count the ways that I love you. Wait...I can't count that high. Please don't crap out on me please don't crap out on me please don't crap out on me please don't please please please please please.
Seriously, if you're the type who can handle atmospheric suspense - watch this.It's the one I'm most excited about, and yet, I've had no time to watch it!
And then we have our continuing shows...
Six Flying Dragons
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| A search for YAI or BYH abs revealed NOTHING, so have some from Long Hair Era Rim. I see six dragons... |
I feel like I should know what that means, but I cheerfully admit to not having great interest in Star Wars. Behind on this. Wicked behind. Not even going to attempt to catch up behind. When I hit a slow patch, I guess.
Moorim School
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| Does anyone live here ever, because this is maybe the 4th drama I've seen with this house |
Dropped it because I didn't really like it. It should've been funnier.
I'm losing interest too. It's too 'Saturday morning live action kid's show' for me, I think. These were after my time, but you know what I mean. Power Rangers. S Club Seven. That kind of thing.Not exactly a hit, this one. And now cancelled at "only" 16 eps.
Cheese in the Trap
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| No shortage of pretty... |
I'll give it one more week (this week) but, I have to say, as someone who suffered a stalker, I cannot accept Jung setting a stalker on Seol, even if she forgives it. I also cannot accept how he had a person's hand smashed just because he didn't like his father liking that person. I get finding people one's own age who get close to our parents annoying, aggravating and even, in certain circumstances awkward and humiliating. But nothing justifies Jung's nastiness. And the poor little rich boy who finds his soul story means nothing to me.
But is that what we saw? I'm open to these much darker interpretations, mind you - I have no clear picture of Jung other than knowing there's something wrong with that boy - but I think it says something that I was surprised to hear your description of events based on what I've seen so far.I understand Saki's discomfort. From the get-go, this drama has made me uncomfortable.
Remember (Son's War)
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| We got your crazy, right here |
Bromance
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| No |
Western Shows
Shadowhunters
Caitlyn made me aware of this (because she tweeted about how horrible it was, haha) so I went ahead and watched the first two episodes. It's based on "The Mortal Instruments" by Cassandra Clare, which I have never read (thankfully?). The show is absolutely horrible, script, acting, editing, pacing and especially! The special effects. It's almost endearing how bad it is. And they're trying so hard... I am reminded of the American version of Boys Before Friends, almost. It's like the high-budget version of it. Anyway, the bisexual warlock is my favorite character, if only this show were about him...
Maybe I'll watch the movie instead and skip the show :D
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| This GIF, I gather, comes from mrhankey.tumblr.com |
I read them all because I liked the world, and the books are better than the movie or the tv show, but yeah. It's not art, just fun.
Lucifer
I belatedly realized that the pilot has been out for months - and I went ahead and watched it. As I have previously mentioned, Lucifer Morningstar is in my Top 3 favorite comics of all time. This version of Lucifer first appears in The Sandman (inspired by Milton's Paradise Lost) - and Neil Gaiman made sure Lucifer looked like David Bowie. In the spin-off, Lucifer goes against predestination and he creates a parallel universe, in which a mere human rules instead of God. It's excellent. And actually quite deep, building on Gnostic thoughts. If you haven't read it, read it!
I've been waiting for this - the pilot is already available? (well, officially, it's airing tonight, but it was already shown in full at Comicon last year, so it's available, yes) Hulu is only showing me clips, and I won't watch them so I can go in fresh. I don't even have the history of the comic books to inform me, since I've never been a comic book person. (Something about the layout is agitating to me.) I have heard of Morningstar as his last name before, so either it's out there in other things as part of the mythos, or I came into contact with your stories in some minor way.
There you go, the minute you started talking about it it came back to me. Root word 'luc, lum, lux' etc... I remember loving finding out that the original meaning of lunatic was 'moonstruck' - a word used to describe someone who'd gone mad from being out under the light of the moon.
Looking Forward To
Legend of Green Hill Fox about gumiho clans. I'm not sure whether it's pure WuXia or whether these creatures will mix with the modern world, but they all look so pretty! i think it airs in March. When can we expect it on Viki, then, the same month or in the summer?
Isn't Wang Kai in this!? Oh yes, he is! He will be dubbed though. Who dubs such a beautiful voice! *shakes fist*
