kdrama - he's beautiful (rewatching 2nd time: ep 10)

Park's outfits in episode 10

 

impressions of episode 10

continuation from ep 9: although Mi Nam never answer, He Yi know the correct answer.

funny lime scenes
Tae Kyung: they're not for me
Shin Woo: they're good for colds
Jeremy: it's for a sick friend

the high fever scene.
she refuse to enter hospital, because she promised not to get caught. so he has to take care of her at home.

5am. and her fever is gone. poor Tae Kyung!

the 5 finger scene. 

she identify it as his palm. he said it is the number 5.

and now he accepts Mi Nam completely as part of the group! including taking responsibility if the secret is leaked out.

Shin Woo waited all that time while Tae Kyung was taking care of Mi Nam.

Manager Ma epic fail legendary story 
Trying to concoot a story for Mi Nam, as Bruce Lee or Indian prince or having a famous mystery mom.

shopping for girl's clothes!
to avoid hospital issue again, Tae Kyung goes shopping for girl clothes for Mi Nam

confession time.

Tae Kyung assumes Mi Nam has done something wrong again

He Yi fakes vomitting - ie preggy - to stop the confession, since the boys reaction will be favourable to Mi Nam

He Yi stops Mi Nam from confession, on the pretext that she needs to confess to everyone - hence, at the premiere of the MV

Tae Kyung takes her phone and finds he isnt No 1. it's her dad and he's a scary guy. Tae Kyung sends off SMS to her dad: "daddy, i'm pregnant"

Tae Kyung tells the rest nothing happened, that He Yi was unwell.

Mi Nam now changes her tune and makes apology for being sick yesterday

past history sequence
Mi Nam's aunt gossiping with her pals. 20 years ago, Tae Kyung's mom (of course, they dont know he is her child) at her peak took a long break, same time as when the twins were born.

Tae Kyung's mom playing the song Mi Nam's dad wrote for her - she feels he loved only her.

at the same time, Tae Kyung has to redo the song and it bugs him cos this song caused him to be abandoned by his mom.

he talks to pig rabbit about his situation! and wish Mi Nam was there to snap him out of his bad mood

stars and more stars
Mi Nam is out on the balcony, wondering why she cant see the stars. Tae Kyung comes up and tells her to turn off the lights. now she can see the stars but Tae Kyung cant see anything

they talk about the premiere tomorrow. she will go solo so that the spotlight wont be taken away from her by the boys

Mi Nam says the boys in the band are like stars, so far away.

a lot of see and cannot see analogy.

Tae Kyung wants Mi Nam to be always within his visual distance

Mi Nam wants Tae Kyung to pretend he cannot see her when she returns to being a girl. ie. go separate ways.

Tae Kyung, too proud to admit otherwise, agrees.

MV premiere
Mi Nam puts her confession plan in action as per agreement with He Yi

Tae Kyung finds the hairpin missing from the stuffed animal, and the girl clothes he bought her were gone too. so he puts 1+1 together.

at the darkened auditorium, Tae Kyung has to ask his buddies to help out. to look for a girl in an ivory coat and pink skirt! that's when jeremy finally finds out the truth!

he shouts, dont be in a place where i cant see you. that stuns her, cos she didnt expect he would be here.
the lights come on, but everyone is looking at Tae Kyung. before anyone recog the girl, Shin Woo has her covered.

Shin Woo: she's my gf!

dorama - Freeter, Ie o Kau

official website:
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/ie-wo-kau/index.html

drama title:
Freeter, Ie o Kau / フリーター、家を買う

main cast
Ninomiya Kazunari as Take Seiji
Karina as Chiba Manami (girl he likes)
Takenaka Naoto as Take Seiichi (his dad)
Asano Atsuko as Take Sumiko (his mom)
Igawa Haruka as Nagata Ayako (his elder sister)
Otomo Kohei as Oetsu Sadao (his boss)

synopsis:
ordinary guy just graduate from uni gets into average company. however, he left after 3 months cos he couldnt get used to the salaryman way of life. thereafter, he continue to fail at job interviews, as well as temp jobs.

due to his fallout with his dad, he has to work to pay for his living expenses at home, so he finally got a temp job that pays enough - in construction, doing menial hard labour.

the story is how he turns his life around and also about his mom's depression.

my score: 7 out of 10.
japanese moms get a lot of pressure, when their kids dont do well, especially sons, cos they are supposed to carry on the family name. so did the mom get depressed cos the son failed to get a job after leaving his 1st one, and continue to stay depressed cos his temp job is a construction worker?

why you should watch it:
ninomiya is the key. in general, everything he does is good to watch. he has an everyman look, even if he is a superstar with Arashi and in his own right as an actor, so his portrayal as a freeter is very realistic. well, he could do with a few more muscles towards the end, lol.

kdrama - My Fair Lady (not the remake of Yamato Nadeshiko)

official website:
http://www.kbs.co.kr/drama/ladycastle/index.html

drama title:
아가씨를 부탁해 / Take Care Of the Lady
oso known as My Fair Lady / Lady Castle

main cast:
Yoon Eun-hye as Kang Hye-na
Yoon Sang Hyun as Seo Dong-chan (Butler Seo)
Jung Il Woo as Lee Tae-yoon
Moon Chae Won as Yeo Eu-joo

synopsis:
spoiled rich girl meets her match in butler seo and changes for the better, while falling in love with him. but of course, there are the difficulties in falling in love and also in getting family approval for wrong caste relationships. 2nd male lead is naturally the young and eligible bachelor.

my score: 7 out of 10.
it's ok but not that fantastic. storyline is a bit stale. yoon eun hye didnt give the right impression of an 'elite' since she has a bit of a speech problem. but yoon sang hyun is just right for the butler role. however, i think he is a bit too old - can see his many wrinkles around his eyes.

why you should watch it:
eye candy and yoon sang hyun sings many many songs and he is lead!

well, yoon eun hye has yet to do a crappy drama. this one isnt bad at all. they dont call her drama queen for nothing. plus, she gets into gross situations again!

movie - Lolita

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056193/

movie title:
Lolita

main cast:
James Mason as Humbert Humbert
Shelley Winters as Charlotte Haze
Sue Lyon as Lolita Haze
Peter Sellers as Clare Quilty

synopsis:
brit prof decides to come to america to teach, and stays in a boarding house run by a middle aged widow who has a hot daughter. mom wants prof but prof wants girl triangle. mom marries prof and finds out he is into her daughter. but before she does any damage, she is killed in an accident. prof ends up with girl as her guardian but he is more than that, obviously. but girl engineers a deception and escapes with the help of the one she really prefers (loves?) - clare quilty.

my score: 5 out of 10.
supposed to be a R(A) sort but since it was shot in 1962, the script was massively watered down and as a result, suffered. no R, A or otherwise - nil sex scenes between older man and young girl. i guess a dated movie is a dated movie. and should be left undisturbed to rest in its grave.

why you should watch it:
i watched it to save you the trouble, so do not watch this movie!

movie - 2001: A Space Odyssey

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/

movie title:
2001: A Space Odyssey

main cast:
space

synopsis:
called space odyssey, like homer's version. is a 'condensed' version of how man came to travel in space. includes some other arcane stuff like alien stargate and perfect computers with AI like HAL9000.

my score: 4 out of 10.
yeah yeah i know, in 1968 (when the film was released) it was state of the art. but do i really wanna watch a very long film which consists mostly of very slowly orbiting objects in space?

why you should watch it:
read the IMDB synopsis or the book (Arthur C Clarke), do not watch this movie!

dorama - Moon Lovers

official website:
http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/getsukoi/index.html

drama title:
Tsuki no Koibito / 月の恋人
oso known as Moon Lovers

main cast
Kimura Takuya as Hazuki Rensuke (furniture CEO)
Shinohara Ryoko as Ninomiya Maemi (furniture designer, loves Rensuke for the longest time)
Lin Chi Ling as Liu Xiu Mei (Shanghai factory girl turned Tokyo model, loves Rensuke for the shortest time)
Kitagawa Keiko as Onuki Yuzuki (Tokyo model and daughter of competitor furniture CEO, has a crush on Rensuke from her high school days)
Matsuda Shota as Sai Kazami (furniture CEO's aide)

synopsis:
furniture CEO falls in love with factory girl after he changed her into a model for his company. but when he got evicted from the company he started (cos of some faulty furniture), he realised that he had changed. now that he is back to square one career-wise, he decided to reclaim his former self too.

my score: 4 out of 10.
really cannot watch, even if the eye candy is so good. that would be the 35-year Lin Chi Ling who looks like 20 and acts like furniture (Wooden).

why you should watch it:
no! i watched it so that you would never ever have to!
there is no story, no chemistry between the leads, and no action either.

kdrama - Queen of Housewives

official website:
http://www.imbc.com/broad/tv/drama/wifequeen/index.html

drama title:
내조의 여왕 / Queen of Housewives
oso known as My Wife Is A Superwoman

main cast:
Kim Nam Joo as Chun Ji Ae (lead actress)
Oh Ji Ho as Ohn Dal Soo (lead actor, Ji Ae's husband)
Lee Hye Young as Yang Bong Soon (Ji Ae's school pal)
Sun Woo Sun as Eun So Hyun (CEO's wife and Dal Soo's school junior)
Choi Chul Ho as Han Joon Hyuk (Ji Ae's ex-bf and Bong Soon's husband)
Yoon Sang Hyun as Heo Tae Joon (CEO)

synopsis:
i dont really know what to call it, maybe - this is karma? Ji Ae is the hottie, Bong Soon the nottie, and Bong Soon hung out with Ji Ae so as to be in on some of the action, but the price to pay is to be at her beck and call. Also, when they were young, Ji Ae got the guy Bong Soon wanted. Then after a big fight, they stopped being friends, Some things happened along the way: Bong Soon stole Joon Hyuk from Ji Ae. Ji Ae married Dal Soo.

time passed, and it turned out the guy Ji Ae married was a loser and jobless. he finally gets a job interview at this great company, and it turns out Joon Hyuk is a manager of the hiring department! So Bong Soon now gets the chance to pay Ji Ae back for all the past hurts. but of course, Joon Hyuk cannot forget his first love, and always sides Ji Ae. lol.

my score: 6 out of 10.
so you see, i dont give out 10s easily.

why you should watch it:
it's pretty long, and if you like seeing people getting their just desserts, go for it. but the drama kinda cops out with a whole set of incredible coincidences, such as the CEO wife having a school crush on Dal Soo, or the CEO liking Nam Joo's ajumma (Auntie) character, so the evil plans dont always work out the way they would in real life.

ok, watch it for Kim Nam Joo if you still love her after 8 years of inactivity and aging. or watch it for Yoon Sang Hyun who again, sings in the drama, even if he is a CEO!

kdrama - Secret Garden

official website:
http://tv.sbs.co.kr/secretgarden

drama title:
시크릿 가든 / Secret Garden

main cast:
Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won
Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im
Kim Sa-rang as Yoon Seul
Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young (Oska)

synopsis:
fairytale adaptation from Secret Garden, Alice in Wonderland and The Little Mermaid and various prince-commoner combos.




first, i assume you have read the books above, else some of the major script bits will pass you by, although the script does explain it (just in case you really didnt read these books before or have no idea what they are about) however, the script doesnt explain the title - secret garden - which is about transformation thru passion (ie. dont let life pass you by, live for something you are passionate about).

Ra Im (sounds like LIME) is a poor stuntwoman, who accidentally comes into the life of mall CEO Joo Won. by rights, nothing would have come out of it, but he was impressed by her and the initial attraction was sufficient to start a chain reaction that changed his life.

he fell in like with her but with a compromise (adapted from The Little Mermaid): she cant be his wife as she has no money, power or fame. so the best he can come up with is that she has to be like the little mermaid: when he has had enough of her (as he thinks he will eventually, like within 3 months), he will dump her and she will then turn into foam and disappear from his life.

she aint that stupid. so she rejects him, even though she is attracted to him (well, easily enough, he is rich and handsome, but he dont know how to sweet talk gals). Joo Won is hopeless at dating, but he is sharp and attentive so he does some things right and they are the right things that will move a girl's heart, but he needs to keep his mouth shut for his own good most of the time.

my score: 10 out of 10.
If it was just a rich man poor woman drama, that wouldnt cut it as one of the top dramas i have ever watched. the Alice in Wonderland magic is what makes it different. the twosome have some historic link but they dont know it, so call it fate or magic, but they drank a magic potion together and then swapped bodies whenever it rains in their vicinity. so, lots of crazy fun. and during the swaps, they learn to trust and love each other deeper, so when there was a final twist to the mermaid tale, it is heartbreaking (have a FULL tissue box nearby).

besides the fabulous acting (Hyun Bin acting girly and coy; Han Ji Won who is a really sexy actress, kicks ass!) and storyline, the second (and third) leads and supporting cast are fantastic. 4 major stars form the basic square. and they all have issues which help the plot along. the songs in the drama are great, both male leads sing! of course, Oska is a real singer so his performances are awesome. i first watched Yoon Sang Hyun in the Queen of Housewives and thought he was a good actor. here, he is at his best acting and singing.

why you should watch it:
this drama has everything, and even gives a glimpse into the lives of stunt people. how rare is that in a drama, eh?

everything meaning: 4 top stars giving their best acting, fabulous songs, awesome script (Joo Won's "Is this the best? Are you sure?"), action sequences, eye candy.

ok, basically i watched it as non-stop as i could. that's why i recommend this as a MUST WATCH. and the theme songs are running in my head and on my iphone, until the next great drama/theme song.

tip: and after you have watched an episode (or more, cos you just cant stop, can you?), do read the recap@dramabeans. it gives better understanding to the drama.