Rants and Weekly Raves #117 (RAWR)
kakashi: We're rushing towards the end of the year, who can feel the vortex?
SakiVI: me.
JoAnne: This December is not as crazy as last December was. Maybe I'm just used to it, though.
Shuk: There is just too much going on to comment much. Ack!
You're just mad because Kim Ji Hoon was in it, but only for 30 seconds.
I'm watching the whole thing. I wish I could watch it all now. It is dumb. Super dumb--like teen romance novel dumb. Wait. It is a teen romance novel. Those books are the only reason I lived through middle school. This show brings back those memories.
Oh I'm going to watch, too. We all know if it's simple and pretty I'll give it a whirl. I don't like stupid, but I don't mind dumb in small doses. I get tired of it in large doses. *coughs* Sorry... a piece of Ice went down the wrong way.
I am not ashamed to say that I watched ep 2 three times. When they all come out I'm going to gobble them up together like a giant pixy stick. I know I might feel sick later, but the sugar high will be worth it.
I'll wait for all of them. The subs seem really slow for a webdrama.
I liked it quite a bit this week (I'm borderline annoyed with Lee Min-ho, but can keep it in check), mainly because it was tinged with so much sadness.
Watched it this week, and am so sad about Jo Jeong Suk!
Ah, what sweethearts. That goes for practically everyone, just not that messed up ex of Big's. I get her misery but I don't care about it AT ALL. That's probably unfair to her, she's just trying to live and it's not like she's had it easy or even wants the life she's living, but whatever. She isn't entitled to Big the way she seems to think she is. No! My sweet babies need each other, as friends if not anything else. Every week I look forward to these kids so much - them, their friends, their loving families, all of it. Nice people, living their lives diligently even when they have sorrows and health concerns and disappointments. Wow, just like actual people do.
I have nothing to complain about this show either, unless I try really hard (and I'm not gonna) ((though I thought eps 4 was a bit slow)). The "age gap" doesn't bother me either, but I did puzzle over the choice to make her 19 (even if age of consent in Korea is waaay below that). This is what I think: The dramatic choice has nothing to do with the love between a very young female and a very old mystical figure, but has everything to do with loneliness, sadness, vulnerability and finding a "home". Plus, there is nothing at all sexual in this relationship. As JoAnne says, this is not even overly romantic, but ultimately tragic. The Goblin is a very tragic figure, as should have become abundantly clear from the start. Finding his bride means he is going to die (at least in his head), and that is all the more cruel the more he actually likes this human who is going to "save" him. Her fate in this is cruel too: very clearly, this man is starting to cure her many, many hurts. He is like medicine for a very long illness. She already depends on him on so many levels - and will be the cause for his demise. Reading more into it (like bride=sexual partner=age gap=gross) is our own choice. I don't think the drama wants us to or really invites us to.
It's where I see a man who looks late 30s exchanging longing looks (even if they're not romantic) with a girl who looks like a teenager that I think, couldn't she at least have been 27? Or could they have used an actor who was 25? Not that I don't love Gong Yoo and otherwise enjoy the show, but this still looks weird to me.
I almost think no, it wouldn't. Not that 25 or 27 is old, but that's a few more years of being kicked around. You need the bloom on that rose, you need the energy and hope and playfulness that someone so young brings to the table. Our beautiful Goblin is sad, so sad...and he's old, and he's so very, very tired. He just wants it to be over. He's lonely, and done with it all. Yet along comes this adorable young woman who looks for the silver lining, who can laugh in the face of a truly messed up existence, and she's exactly what he needs to lift him out of that funk. Consider it that he got himself a kitten from a shelter. He's saving her. But she's saving him, too.
That kitten analogy doesn't make me feel better about the age difference (yuck).
Ironically, this might be the one high school drama that I'd watch. Dark, death, unhappy.
Hahahaha and I'm looking forward to the triumph of light over dark, innocence over corruption, truth over lies. Why you gotta be so downnn, Trot?
It hasn't even started yet :D
I saw it starting Dec 9th, somewhere, so that's what I had written down - but Viki has it Dec 16th. Oh well!
Yes, he's cute. Not watching, though.
I'm only on episode 9, but I really enjoy every episode - especially when our feisty princess and her smitten prince are on screen. You'd guess that he loved her in real life even if they hadn't come clean about it, unless he's really that good an actor?
I got up to Episode 32, but it felt like I had binged on cake. No matter how good the cake, there's a point you can't keep eating it for each and every meal and snack. So, the rest will have to wait.
We should just call this the panty show and be done with it. He is delicious and so "restless" about her. Even the robot knows and says a premature congratulations. I'm really hating the 2nd lead and not in the way you are supposed to hate the bitchy 2nd lead. They haven't given us enough reason for her to hate our heroine as much as she does. It's not fair, but I understand everyone else's hatred, but hers seems to be that she doesn't like nice people and because her soul is a small piece of coal, she believes that people who are nice are trying to manipulate people. It is sorta fun watching her try to be nice though.
This is actually the only show I'm watching raw just to focus on his face first, then a second watch once it's fully subbed. His expressions are that good.
Well, with HBO, making you wait for things is a concept.
They released all the episodes at once! I hate that because it means you have to wait 364 days for more. Although I didn't watch them all at once, I'm only on episode 3. Practicing restraint. Isn't Monica Bellucci glorious, though?
SakiVI: me.
JoAnne: This December is not as crazy as last December was. Maybe I'm just used to it, though.
Shuk: There is just too much going on to comment much. Ack!
Korea
The Man in Our House
Dad's alive! Stepdad is now simply Hot and Adorable Former Gangster Boyfriend with Thoughts of Marriage!
Dad is even creepier and skeevier than the creepy/skeevy people we already know. Part of me wishes he were really dead.
Dad's a sleazeball JERK. I am so looking forward to Duk Bong and Nan Gil teaming up to save Na Ri from his skeevy ways. And I hate to say it but the Snake is sort of charming me at this point. A bit.
Dad is even creepier and skeevier than the creepy/skeevy people we already know. Part of me wishes he were really dead.
Dad's a sleazeball JERK. I am so looking forward to Duk Bong and Nan Gil teaming up to save Na Ri from his skeevy ways. And I hate to say it but the Snake is sort of charming me at this point. A bit.
Seven First Kisses (new)
I refuse to watch more than the one episode I saw. This is just too dumb. And for a commercial, it's too long.You're just mad because Kim Ji Hoon was in it, but only for 30 seconds.
I'm watching the whole thing. I wish I could watch it all now. It is dumb. Super dumb--like teen romance novel dumb. Wait. It is a teen romance novel. Those books are the only reason I lived through middle school. This show brings back those memories.
Oh I'm going to watch, too. We all know if it's simple and pretty I'll give it a whirl. I don't like stupid, but I don't mind dumb in small doses. I get tired of it in large doses. *coughs* Sorry... a piece of Ice went down the wrong way.
I am not ashamed to say that I watched ep 2 three times. When they all come out I'm going to gobble them up together like a giant pixy stick. I know I might feel sick later, but the sugar high will be worth it.
I'll wait for all of them. The subs seem really slow for a webdrama.
Legend of the Blue Sea
Annnnnnnnd now I unironically like this. It's just adding up nicely for me by now, despite every indication that it should be smelling like a dog with Wet Heirs. (wrong writer :) There could be a lot here to be snarky about but I simply don't feel snarky about it. (Well okay, I feel snarky about 'this is love story' but not about the rest of it.) The Jo Jeong Suk bit sure didn't hurt, but Sim Cheong is love, pure love - and I like her con-man prince with the childhood trauma, I really do. I am a sucker for a criminal who supports justice and a love that transcends time. Sue me.I liked it quite a bit this week (I'm borderline annoyed with Lee Min-ho, but can keep it in check), mainly because it was tinged with so much sadness.
Watched it this week, and am so sad about Jo Jeong Suk!
Weight Lifting Fairy, Kim Bok Joo
I am really enjoying this show, I love Bok-Ju and her friends. Big is so into her. He is really the friend (and boyfriend she needs now). I love them on the bunk bed looking at stars. So cozy. The 2nd lead female makes me hate her and then feel sorry for her. She has NO friends; and she's juxtaposed against Bok-Ju who has great friends AND Big. Now her parents are getting divorced, their losing their house, but they're still trying to pay for her to compete. Such pressure.I'm glad that Bok-Ju is going to have to admit to Thighs that she's been lying. This was dragging out far too long.Ah, what sweethearts. That goes for practically everyone, just not that messed up ex of Big's. I get her misery but I don't care about it AT ALL. That's probably unfair to her, she's just trying to live and it's not like she's had it easy or even wants the life she's living, but whatever. She isn't entitled to Big the way she seems to think she is. No! My sweet babies need each other, as friends if not anything else. Every week I look forward to these kids so much - them, their friends, their loving families, all of it. Nice people, living their lives diligently even when they have sorrows and health concerns and disappointments. Wow, just like actual people do.
Oh My Geum Bi
Tried Episode 7, but found it hard to continue. It's not that it's bad in any way, it's just overloaded with all these problems for all the characters.Goblin
My squeals of delight have probably reached dog-hearing level by now. Ninety minute episodes? Why are they being so stingy? I hang on every gloriously beautiful moment. Why would I mind a flash back that shows me again something I enjoyed so much the first time? It just means I get to enjoy it again without even going to the trouble of a re-wind. Stop talking to me about age gaps! He's 900 years old. It'll never be age appropriate. It's not about their ages. It's about their SOULS, man. Where is your sense of the tragic? Of course they're doomed! This is mythic, not real. And along with this, we get really satisfying humor? Gorgeous special effects? Beautiful people in beautiful locations wearing... okay, never mind about the clothes. Some of that high fashion stuff just isn't meant for real life. Please, please, drama Gods... just let this stay on a steady path. Please.
It's where I see a man who looks late 30s exchanging longing looks (even if they're not romantic) with a girl who looks like a teenager that I think, couldn't she at least have been 27? Or could they have used an actor who was 25? Not that I don't love Gong Yoo and otherwise enjoy the show, but this still looks weird to me.
I almost think no, it wouldn't. Not that 25 or 27 is old, but that's a few more years of being kicked around. You need the bloom on that rose, you need the energy and hope and playfulness that someone so young brings to the table. Our beautiful Goblin is sad, so sad...and he's old, and he's so very, very tired. He just wants it to be over. He's lonely, and done with it all. Yet along comes this adorable young woman who looks for the silver lining, who can laugh in the face of a truly messed up existence, and she's exactly what he needs to lift him out of that funk. Consider it that he got himself a kitten from a shelter. He's saving her. But she's saving him, too.
That kitten analogy doesn't make me feel better about the age difference (yuck).
Solomon's Perjury (new)
Not at all in the mood for this kind of show.Ironically, this might be the one high school drama that I'd watch. Dark, death, unhappy.
Hahahaha and I'm looking forward to the triumph of light over dark, innocence over corruption, truth over lies. Why you gotta be so downnn, Trot?
It hasn't even started yet :D
I saw it starting Dec 9th, somewhere, so that's what I had written down - but Viki has it Dec 16th. Oh well!
Father, I'll Take Care of You
My list of people to hate is growing: The idiot second son and his grasping wife; the whine-y would-be empty nester mother, who is reliably hateful in every role; that slob of a travelling niece and her pretentious mother. But it's okay, because I love poor Hye Joo, trying so hard, and her sister Dok Joo, and oh, is my Giant Puppy handsome and adorable or what?Yes, he's cute. Not watching, though.
Night Light
Subs are coming out very slowly, but it's a good show so far. Also, the fashion is great, especially UEE's. I ended up screenshotting her earrings, though.
Not Korea
Best Lover
I got Zhoumi-ed.
He looks sharp enough to cut you. Too pointy for me. Also, it's a show about a contract marriage between two top stars (other is played by Lee Da Hae, and that's the back of her head down there), one who worked his way up from poverty, and the other a chaebol, or whatever the word is for chaebol in Mandarin, princess with a complicated past. They hate each other, but need the contract marriage for their separate ends and naturally fall in love in the process. Of course there's a cute kid in the mix because why not? He isn't theirs, but is basically getting raised by them. Second lead female plays two different women who both are after Zhoumi, but he and Lee Da Hae are the OTP, so no matter how many personalities SLF has, she's not getting him.
I do like this sort of plot, but I don't have a particular interest in these actors. Keep us up to date, though - if I end up with free time, I'd check it out.
It's exactly the sort of plot I don't like, but surprisingly, I'm enjoying it. Check it out when you can. It's pretty good.
He looks sharp enough to cut you. Too pointy for me. Also, it's a show about a contract marriage between two top stars (other is played by Lee Da Hae, and that's the back of her head down there), one who worked his way up from poverty, and the other a chaebol, or whatever the word is for chaebol in Mandarin, princess with a complicated past. They hate each other, but need the contract marriage for their separate ends and naturally fall in love in the process. Of course there's a cute kid in the mix because why not? He isn't theirs, but is basically getting raised by them. Second lead female plays two different women who both are after Zhoumi, but he and Lee Da Hae are the OTP, so no matter how many personalities SLF has, she's not getting him.
I do like this sort of plot, but I don't have a particular interest in these actors. Keep us up to date, though - if I end up with free time, I'd check it out.
It's exactly the sort of plot I don't like, but surprisingly, I'm enjoying it. Check it out when you can. It's pretty good.
The Princess Wei Young
I'm really tired and couldn't keep up. Maybe next year I'll get back to it.I'm only on episode 9, but I really enjoy every episode - especially when our feisty princess and her smitten prince are on screen. You'd guess that he loved her in real life even if they hadn't come clean about it, unless he's really that good an actor?
I got up to Episode 32, but it felt like I had binged on cake. No matter how good the cake, there's a point you can't keep eating it for each and every meal and snack. So, the rest will have to wait.
Behind Your Smile (Lie My Panties, You Devil)
DevilBoy is twisting in the wind at this point and it's only Episode 4. He's completely perplexed by his target, who - at every single possible turn - does what he does not expect and messes with his head, his plan, and probably his loins. The good news is that she makes him smile, and we are the lucky viewers of that. Ladies, I do not know about you - but I'm going to have to replenish my panty drawer soon because they just keep disappearing.We should just call this the panty show and be done with it. He is delicious and so "restless" about her. Even the robot knows and says a premature congratulations. I'm really hating the 2nd lead and not in the way you are supposed to hate the bitchy 2nd lead. They haven't given us enough reason for her to hate our heroine as much as she does. It's not fair, but I understand everyone else's hatred, but hers seems to be that she doesn't like nice people and because her soul is a small piece of coal, she believes that people who are nice are trying to manipulate people. It is sorta fun watching her try to be nice though.
Back to 1989
I'm nearly done with Episode 11. Chen Che gets more handsome every episode, but right now he's busy getting exposed as a visitor from the future to some people, and breaking other people's hearts to keep that secret from other people, so...I hope we get past this part soon because poor ZZ and her broken heart, together with Ya Juan's broken heart, plus Xiao Long's broken heart, it's just too many broken hearts in here.Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, We Married as Job
I continue to love this show and am worried that the work related intrigue will pull us away from what we care about. Will these two ever make sure that they are vocal about the fact that they are on the same page? So much awkward post kiss and then what seems to be them making up has our hero freaking out that she will find out he has NO experience with women. I mean, duh, Hiramasa, you guys have to practice hugging on a schedule, you think she hasn't figured out that you have no experience. We do have some good times with the families and co-workers while the Muki and Hiramasa figure out how much they should be doing and giving in the relationship. Her family is great (except for her obnoxious brother). There is also some really interesting discussions about working mothers and the position of older women in the workforce. I'd be interested to see what Japanese viewers are saying about this. I love the moment they decide to get back together. great shot and scene and trick by director that didn't make me mad. Run for your woman Hiramasa!
IQ246
I'm going to give an update on this one because Jimi ni Sugoi subs have stopped. i've seen that up to ep 5 and am trying to patiently wait. IQ246 continues to be enjoyable and funny and the mystery is ramping up. The weekly mysteries are all a part of some big over all competition between our lead (who has an IQ of 246) and the arch villainess (who has great, impossible to walk in, shoes). turns out part of their bitter rivalry is because her IQ is 300 and he beat her in the past. Also, we have Dean. I opened the year with Dean in Dame na Watashi ni Koishite Kudasi, had Dean in the middle with Hapi Mari, and now this. Dean approves.
And watch out when he takes off his glasses--the butt kicking begins!
Westworld (season finale)
I will say only this: I guessed the plot twist by the penultimate episode and then talked myself out of it. I hate it when I do that, because in retrospect it is so very, very clear. Kakashi, when you catch up we will discuss. Is it really true we have to wait until 2018 for the next season? Monstrous.Well, with HBO, making you wait for things is a concept.
Mozart in the Jungle (Season 3)
I forgot how short these episodes are!!! You inhale once, deeply, and a whole season is over. Ohhhh, Rodrigo... I love this show for its characters - especially the tough, strong, beautiful women - and its ardent celebration of music of all sorts. If only the seasons were longer.They released all the episodes at once! I hate that because it means you have to wait 364 days for more. Although I didn't watch them all at once, I'm only on episode 3. Practicing restraint. Isn't Monica Bellucci glorious, though?
Looking forward to...
(At least Saki is!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N28H2UhqipI&feature=youtu.be
SakiVI: What, only me? moonlil is excited too! But no one else (hint, Kakashi) on this blog?
I am too! But not as much as you are, I guess. The trailer looks excellent though!
Of course, I will check this out. But I'm looking forward to Voice and Stay with Me more. Jang Hyuk and more Wang Kai? Yes, please. OMG yes
Kakashi sensei, it's got proper tomb-robbing, unlike Mystic Nine. It should be so cool!
I'm just looking forward to the end of the holiday season and a chance to catch up on sleep.