MBC Drama Thank You 고맙습니다 (2007) rebroadcasted on AZN TV
MBC Drama Thank You
장혁 張赫 Jang Hyuk currently making his first American film with Singaporean actress Fann Wong 范文芳 in America called "Dance of the Dragon". Before before doing that, his first production post his return from his military service (along the same time as Song Seung Hun 송승헌) his comeback 16 episode drama with MBC was "THANK YOU" 고맙습니다 Komapseumnida a big hit with the Korean audiences earlier this year.
AZN Rebroadcast it this time in the 9-10:30pm slot (EST) last night. I missed the first episode again! (The first time around my sister did not like it and told me not to watch it. I was in the midst of my "COFFE PRINCE" 커피프린스 1호점 marathon at that point back in September). I am glad they are repeating it as I can watch it again.
"Thank You" is a touching Korean Drama about a troubled young man Dr. Min Gi-Suh who goes to Blue Island to escape his past. The love of his life died in his arms, he has a troubled past, but he is also a talented doctor. Her final wish was to have him apologize to a young mother and daughter for her unknowingly giving"tainted" blood donation to the little girl. There he meets the simple but pretty single mom Lee Young Shin who rents out a room to him during his stay. She struggles because her daughter is HIV positive- the very cute and optimistic 8 year old Bom. She is the daughter of her first love Choi Suk-Hyun, but Young Shin refuses to acknowledge this fact. Young Shin and Bom live with her father Mr. Lee (Lee Byoung Gook). He has Alzheimer's and gets upset if he is not addressed as Mr. Lee. Plus he only remembers Young Shin's deceased brother and wife and does not recognize Bom as his granddaughter or Young Shin as his daughter.
In this drama the arrogant Dr. Min Gi-Suh learned that his life is not half that bad. He is around Young Shin and realizes he is very lucky. Due to her positive outlook despite many life adversities, he sees the beauty of her soul. Meanwhile, her first love Choi Suk-Hyun realizes his affections for Young Shin once more after Dr. Min Gi-Suh's interest in Young Shin.
I really loved the little girl who played Bom. She was a bright light throughout the drama with her infectious smile and sunny personality. This drama is different from the tearjerker romances and crazy dating dramas. After his absence from dramas, Jang Hyuk here did an amazing job and added a mature air to his performance as the troubled Min Gi Suh. For his fans, he is still appealing as ever. Gong Hyo Jin as Young Shin does a great job. Big departure from her role in "Ruler of your World" or "Sang Doo go to School". She is not the conventional Kdrama beauty but she does have the acting chops for this role.
I am glad I am having another chance to catch this drama.
CAST:
Min Gi-suh (29) / Jang Hyuk 장혁 (Success Story of a Bright Girl 명랑소녀 성공기)
Lee Young-shin (27) / Gong Hyo-jin 공효진 (Sang Doo go to School 상두야,학교가자!)
Lee Bom (Sam-wol, 8) / Suh Shin-aeChoi Suk-hyun (29) / Shin Sung-rok 신성록Mr. Lee (Lee Byung-gook, 70) / Shin Gu 신구
Monday, December 17, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Undoing-the movie premiere in Boston area
Last Friday night, I went to the UNDOING reception with some of the producers and star Sung Kang at Casablanca restaurant. My friend AC and I got a chance to talk to Sung Kang at length. I have talked to Roger Fan (another actor who is his friend and colleague in a few other films together) before. Sung believes internet is the wave of the future and has started to uploading mini videos on his website recently to tell a fun story. He does not want to write too much about his life or have his fans feel as if he is trying to "sell them" something. He had a great sense of humor and was fun to chat with.
Then we went to catch the film upstairs at the Brattle Theater. I just found out that Karin Chien, one of the producers also produced my friend's short film. She was great and very articulate! Philip (former engineer) now producer mentioned that the movie is coming out on DVD very soon (within a month or two).
Then we went to catch the film upstairs at the Brattle Theater. I just found out that Karin Chien, one of the producers also produced my friend's short film. She was great and very articulate! Philip (former engineer) now producer mentioned that the movie is coming out on DVD very soon (within a month or two).
Married to the Mafia-Enemy in Law (KR Movie 2005)
Married to the Mafia-Enemy in Law (KR 2005)
Kim Won-Hee and Shin Hyun-Jun in Marrying the Mfia 2. (credit:lovehkfilm.com)
Marrying the Mafia #2 Enemy in law, I caught last night. According to some net research, this sequel surpassed Married to the Mafia aka Gamunui Yeonggwang. It was a fun movie that had its comedic moments but what made the movie was the acting by the lad Shin Hyun Jun and Kim Won Hee.
Cast:
Shin Hyun-Jun, Kim Won-Hee, Kim Su-Mi, Tak Jae-Hun, Lim Hyeong-Jun, Kong Hyeong-Jin, Shin Yi
(Sanjuro 2006 review from http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/marrying_the_mafia_2.html.)
Jeong Young-Ki, director of the Asian horror flick The Doll Master, tries his hand at comedy with Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law, the hit 2005 sequel that was so popular it actually surpassed the impressive box office receipts of the 2002 film that spawned it. This wacky gangster comedy shifts its focus to a new mob family and centers on the marital situation of the clan's number one son, Jang In-Jae, played by actor Shin Hyun-Jun, last seen in High Dharma 2 and Face. It seems that In-Jae's mobster mother (Kim Soo-Mi) takes an active role in her three sons' lives. Whether it's faking her own kidnapping just to time their rescue attempts or simply trying to marry off In-Jae before he becomes an old bachelor, Mama Jang clearly wants to see her sons do well. However, the blind dates aren't working out for In-Jae, as no woman seems to compare to Jin-Sook, his beloved high school sweetheart. As luck would have it, after yet another unfulfilling blind date, In-Jae catches a glimpse of Kim Jin-Kyung (Kim Won-Hee), an attractive young woman who just so happens to be the spitting image of the dearly departed Jin-Sook But despite their similarities, Jin-Kyung isn't In-Jae's girlfriend come back to life, but is instead a chief prosecutor! In-Jae spies her just prior to her participation in a sting operation to take down a nefarious gangster, a man whose organization just so happens to be a rival of the Jang family. But when Jin-Kyung ends up drugged and defenseless, it's lucky for her that In-Jae is in the vicinity to step in and save the day. With Jin-Kyung knocked out cold, In-Jae has little option but to take her home until she awakens, a decision which, of course, results in the expected Three's Company-esque misunderstandings before a real romance between the two can properly develop.
Strangely enough, from this point forward, the film becomes increasingly bipolar in terms of tone. In one respect, it becomes a wacky "anything goes" comedy worthy of the best and worst of Wong Jing's oeuvre, full of out-of-place boob jokes and over-the-top penis sight gags that literally have to be seen to be believed. In the case of the latter, at one point, In-Jae's member gets injured so badly that he's forced to wear protective gear during his day-to-day activities. Here's the rub: the resultant bulge makes it seem like he's happy to see, well, just about everyone. The former joke involves legal eagle Jin-Kyung stealing some confiscated Chinese breast enhancement cream, which she eventually applies to her pixyish frame, only to find that there really was a reason why her office confiscated it in the first place. The film also contains some amusing flashbacks, including one in which In-Jae suspiciously resembles a spastic Howie Mandel! Other jokes rely heavily on Korean pop culture references, which while perhaps funny for native speakers, will likely go directly over the heads of non-Korean audience members, this reviewer included. Even so, there are plenty of funny moments that aren't lost in translation, one of the best being a situation in which the ultra suave In-Jae comically loses his cool when a romantic trip to the movie theatre goes horribly awry.
But even as all this utter zaniness is going on, there's actually something quite curious occurring in between the laughs - a fairly serious story about a mobster who's grown tired of his criminal life and longs for something more. Genuinely worried about what his lawyer girlfriend thinks and concerned for her career, he turns over a new leaf, but finds himself thwarted at every turn, first by his own brothers, and later by his criminal rivals. It's a testament to Shin Hyun-Jun's acting ability that these constant shifts in tone don't prove off-putting. Even as his character's personality haphazardly shifts to suit the demands of the script, he's able to deliver a convincing performance as a badass gangster, as a horny and somewhat infantile man-child, and even as a handsome romantic lead. Shin Hyun-Jun plays each "type" with considerable aplomb, which helps make the somersaults in tone bearable, if not entirely believable.
The conflicts, both personal and professional, within the film comes to a climactic head when a vicious crime boss frames the three Jang brothers, and they are put on trial by Jin-Kyung's colleague/wannabe boyfriend (Kong Hyeong-Jin). After learning of In-Jae's criminal past, will Jin Kyung defend her boyfriend in court? Or will she leave him high and dry? Of course, anyone even remotely familiar with filmic conventions will know exactly what will happen next, as the film climaxes with a trial that's somewhat reminiscent of Stephen Chow's early courtroom comedies. Sure, the ending comes courtesy of an altogether convenient deus ex machina, but if you've been laughing hard enough at that point, Marrying the Mafia 2 probably won't warrant that level of scrutiny.
Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law is how the character of the Jang family matriarch is handled. From her overdone makeup and larger than life presence in the opening sequence, one almost expects a cutthroat Mafioso-type, who would stop at nothing to break up her son's relationship with the lawyer, perhaps even going to extreme measures to protect her own interests. At the very least, considering how Korean comedies and melodramas tend to play out, one would expect some major league conflict between mother and daughter-in-law that may or may not result in reconciliation. But here, that's not the case at all. Thankfully, the film doesn't ask its audience to jump through these tired formulaic hoops. Rather than give us the typical domineering old harridan who thinks that no woman - particularly the story's heroine - is good enough for her boy, we get a mother who just wants her son to be happy. When he's found the love of his life, she just has to figure out a way to make her family come off as the Korean version of the Cleavers, a deception that proves to have fairly comic results.
Although the plot could use some work, and the romance could have been developed further, the fact remains that I did laugh quite a bit during Marrying the Mafia 2. It's wacky fluff with an occasional serious edge, but thanks to a strong performance from leading man Shin Hyun-Jun, Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law is a gangster comedy worth taking a shot at. (Sanjuro 2006)
Kim Won-Hee and Shin Hyun-Jun in Marrying the Mfia 2. (credit:lovehkfilm.com)
Marrying the Mafia #2 Enemy in law, I caught last night. According to some net research, this sequel surpassed Married to the Mafia aka Gamunui Yeonggwang. It was a fun movie that had its comedic moments but what made the movie was the acting by the lad Shin Hyun Jun and Kim Won Hee.
Cast:
Shin Hyun-Jun, Kim Won-Hee, Kim Su-Mi, Tak Jae-Hun, Lim Hyeong-Jun, Kong Hyeong-Jin, Shin Yi
(Sanjuro 2006 review from http://www.lovehkfilm.com/panasia/marrying_the_mafia_2.html.)
Jeong Young-Ki, director of the Asian horror flick The Doll Master, tries his hand at comedy with Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law, the hit 2005 sequel that was so popular it actually surpassed the impressive box office receipts of the 2002 film that spawned it. This wacky gangster comedy shifts its focus to a new mob family and centers on the marital situation of the clan's number one son, Jang In-Jae, played by actor Shin Hyun-Jun, last seen in High Dharma 2 and Face. It seems that In-Jae's mobster mother (Kim Soo-Mi) takes an active role in her three sons' lives. Whether it's faking her own kidnapping just to time their rescue attempts or simply trying to marry off In-Jae before he becomes an old bachelor, Mama Jang clearly wants to see her sons do well. However, the blind dates aren't working out for In-Jae, as no woman seems to compare to Jin-Sook, his beloved high school sweetheart. As luck would have it, after yet another unfulfilling blind date, In-Jae catches a glimpse of Kim Jin-Kyung (Kim Won-Hee), an attractive young woman who just so happens to be the spitting image of the dearly departed Jin-Sook But despite their similarities, Jin-Kyung isn't In-Jae's girlfriend come back to life, but is instead a chief prosecutor! In-Jae spies her just prior to her participation in a sting operation to take down a nefarious gangster, a man whose organization just so happens to be a rival of the Jang family. But when Jin-Kyung ends up drugged and defenseless, it's lucky for her that In-Jae is in the vicinity to step in and save the day. With Jin-Kyung knocked out cold, In-Jae has little option but to take her home until she awakens, a decision which, of course, results in the expected Three's Company-esque misunderstandings before a real romance between the two can properly develop.
Strangely enough, from this point forward, the film becomes increasingly bipolar in terms of tone. In one respect, it becomes a wacky "anything goes" comedy worthy of the best and worst of Wong Jing's oeuvre, full of out-of-place boob jokes and over-the-top penis sight gags that literally have to be seen to be believed. In the case of the latter, at one point, In-Jae's member gets injured so badly that he's forced to wear protective gear during his day-to-day activities. Here's the rub: the resultant bulge makes it seem like he's happy to see, well, just about everyone. The former joke involves legal eagle Jin-Kyung stealing some confiscated Chinese breast enhancement cream, which she eventually applies to her pixyish frame, only to find that there really was a reason why her office confiscated it in the first place. The film also contains some amusing flashbacks, including one in which In-Jae suspiciously resembles a spastic Howie Mandel! Other jokes rely heavily on Korean pop culture references, which while perhaps funny for native speakers, will likely go directly over the heads of non-Korean audience members, this reviewer included. Even so, there are plenty of funny moments that aren't lost in translation, one of the best being a situation in which the ultra suave In-Jae comically loses his cool when a romantic trip to the movie theatre goes horribly awry.
But even as all this utter zaniness is going on, there's actually something quite curious occurring in between the laughs - a fairly serious story about a mobster who's grown tired of his criminal life and longs for something more. Genuinely worried about what his lawyer girlfriend thinks and concerned for her career, he turns over a new leaf, but finds himself thwarted at every turn, first by his own brothers, and later by his criminal rivals. It's a testament to Shin Hyun-Jun's acting ability that these constant shifts in tone don't prove off-putting. Even as his character's personality haphazardly shifts to suit the demands of the script, he's able to deliver a convincing performance as a badass gangster, as a horny and somewhat infantile man-child, and even as a handsome romantic lead. Shin Hyun-Jun plays each "type" with considerable aplomb, which helps make the somersaults in tone bearable, if not entirely believable.
The conflicts, both personal and professional, within the film comes to a climactic head when a vicious crime boss frames the three Jang brothers, and they are put on trial by Jin-Kyung's colleague/wannabe boyfriend (Kong Hyeong-Jin). After learning of In-Jae's criminal past, will Jin Kyung defend her boyfriend in court? Or will she leave him high and dry? Of course, anyone even remotely familiar with filmic conventions will know exactly what will happen next, as the film climaxes with a trial that's somewhat reminiscent of Stephen Chow's early courtroom comedies. Sure, the ending comes courtesy of an altogether convenient deus ex machina, but if you've been laughing hard enough at that point, Marrying the Mafia 2 probably won't warrant that level of scrutiny.
Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law is how the character of the Jang family matriarch is handled. From her overdone makeup and larger than life presence in the opening sequence, one almost expects a cutthroat Mafioso-type, who would stop at nothing to break up her son's relationship with the lawyer, perhaps even going to extreme measures to protect her own interests. At the very least, considering how Korean comedies and melodramas tend to play out, one would expect some major league conflict between mother and daughter-in-law that may or may not result in reconciliation. But here, that's not the case at all. Thankfully, the film doesn't ask its audience to jump through these tired formulaic hoops. Rather than give us the typical domineering old harridan who thinks that no woman - particularly the story's heroine - is good enough for her boy, we get a mother who just wants her son to be happy. When he's found the love of his life, she just has to figure out a way to make her family come off as the Korean version of the Cleavers, a deception that proves to have fairly comic results.
Although the plot could use some work, and the romance could have been developed further, the fact remains that I did laugh quite a bit during Marrying the Mafia 2. It's wacky fluff with an occasional serious edge, but thanks to a strong performance from leading man Shin Hyun-Jun, Marrying The Mafia 2: Enemy in Law is a gangster comedy worth taking a shot at. (Sanjuro 2006)
Friday, December 7, 2007
More 9 end and 2 outs
More 9 end and 2 outs (MBC 2007)
The fans out there are great! Thanks to them and their hard work I have been able to appreciate a lot of Korean dramas! I have to say I am appreciative. From the English translation of Coffee Prince 커피프린스 1호점, or Coffee Prince(based on popular internet story to runaway hit of South Korea this past summer) to many websites and great fans translating the dramas into various languages/forums and websites plus doing synopsis and making MV, translating the OST. I am very appreciative. 감사합니다!
It is good to see Lee Jung Jin 이정진 stars in his first drama after his military time with 9 End 2 Outs (or better translated 2 outs 9th inning/Bottom of the ninth) with Soo Ae 박수애 . I saw him as Alex Hong as Kim Rae Won's 김래원 adversary in "Love Story in Harvard" (러브스토리 인 하버드; Rubeusutori in Habeodeu 16 episodes 2004) for Kim Tae Hee's 김태희 affections. I liked his chemistry with Soo Ae in this drama. Their interplay as friends for over 30 years. In the first episode, they both get a text message on New Year's Eve. After not talking for a long period of time, they wonder why they got message from Nam San. Then they realize their promise to each other at the end of their 20's to meet at Nam San. This drama uses baseball to describe the ups and downs of singles in their 30's.
I enjoyed this drama a lot, it is not the sad "heavy" crying dramas that I first starting watching thanks to my mother "Beautiful Days" (아름다운 날들 / Ah-reum-dah-woon Nal-deul 24 episodes 2001) or "Autumn Love (aka Endless Love)"(16 episodes 2000). I like the fact it is about relationships with loved ones and friends. The ins and outs of a variety of people whose lives are interwined.
One person did an extensive summary of the first episode which should be bottom of the 9th inning 2 outs:
http://asiandramaddict.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/9-end-2-outs-episode-1/ detailed summary of episode 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leejungjin_fanclub/sets/72157600582915353/ Lee Jung Jin's fanclub FLICKR site with photos from this drama
Episode titles (subbed/translated by S2):
1st Inning: 30... My youth is coming to an end at 9 ends and 2 outs
#2nd Inning: Timing
#3rd Inning: Baseball is an art of time.
#4th Inning: "title was not translated"
#5th Inning: 30...The banquet has ended
#6th Inning: "All ball players should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Babe Ruth
#7th Inning: Strike Zone (Jung Joo returns back from America)
#8th Inning: Goodbye my Major League: love that may have been my last love (Chun Hee pays off her debt. Nan Hee accepts Jung Joo's proposal)
#9th Inning: The return a player that backed out (Nan Hee learns Jung Joo lied about not making Major League, lists all the loves in Nan Hee's past)
#10th Inning: The After effect of an Injury (Chun Hee tries to apologize to Nan Hee's colleague to not sue Lotte/Nan Hee and Hyun Tae date at resort-he admits he likes her) their first kiss
#11th Inning: On the 15th of every month, there is a Civil Defense Exercise (Nan Hee avoids Hyun Tae post their vacation at the resort)
#12th Inning: It seems ike our friendship is coming to an end at the bottom of the 9th inng 2 outs (Plans to see "LOVE LETTER" with Hyun Tae but Yoon Sung Ah has returned)
#13th Inning: Reality & Wrong Intuition, Truth & Imagination, and getting poisoned
#14th Inning: The wish green grass still remembers your story
#15th Inning: Thank you super stars (Nan Hee misses Hyun Tae and not used to living alone now, she gets drunk and sees him at his home outside and she kisses him and tells him she loves him Nan Hee misses being selected as an essay writer)
#16th Inning (finale): Baseball is a game of chance.(Jung Joo makes major league, and Nan Hee and Hyun Tae start dating, receive letter from themselves at 20 Author Shin want Nan Hee as her editor)
The fans out there are great! Thanks to them and their hard work I have been able to appreciate a lot of Korean dramas! I have to say I am appreciative. From the English translation of Coffee Prince 커피프린스 1호점, or Coffee Prince(based on popular internet story to runaway hit of South Korea this past summer) to many websites and great fans translating the dramas into various languages/forums and websites plus doing synopsis and making MV, translating the OST. I am very appreciative. 감사합니다!
It is good to see Lee Jung Jin 이정진 stars in his first drama after his military time with 9 End 2 Outs (or better translated 2 outs 9th inning/Bottom of the ninth) with Soo Ae 박수애 . I saw him as Alex Hong as Kim Rae Won's 김래원 adversary in "Love Story in Harvard" (러브스토리 인 하버드; Rubeusutori in Habeodeu 16 episodes 2004) for Kim Tae Hee's 김태희 affections. I liked his chemistry with Soo Ae in this drama. Their interplay as friends for over 30 years. In the first episode, they both get a text message on New Year's Eve. After not talking for a long period of time, they wonder why they got message from Nam San. Then they realize their promise to each other at the end of their 20's to meet at Nam San. This drama uses baseball to describe the ups and downs of singles in their 30's.
I enjoyed this drama a lot, it is not the sad "heavy" crying dramas that I first starting watching thanks to my mother "Beautiful Days" (아름다운 날들 / Ah-reum-dah-woon Nal-deul 24 episodes 2001) or "Autumn Love (aka Endless Love)"(16 episodes 2000). I like the fact it is about relationships with loved ones and friends. The ins and outs of a variety of people whose lives are interwined.
One person did an extensive summary of the first episode which should be bottom of the 9th inning 2 outs:
http://asiandramaddict.wordpress.com/2007/08/09/9-end-2-outs-episode-1/ detailed summary of episode 1
http://www.flickr.com/photos/leejungjin_fanclub/sets/72157600582915353/ Lee Jung Jin's fanclub FLICKR site with photos from this drama
Episode titles (subbed/translated by S2):
1st Inning: 30... My youth is coming to an end at 9 ends and 2 outs
#2nd Inning: Timing
#3rd Inning: Baseball is an art of time.
#4th Inning: "title was not translated"
#5th Inning: 30...The banquet has ended
#6th Inning: "All ball players should quit when it starts to feel as if all the baselines run uphill." Babe Ruth
#7th Inning: Strike Zone (Jung Joo returns back from America)
#8th Inning: Goodbye my Major League: love that may have been my last love (Chun Hee pays off her debt. Nan Hee accepts Jung Joo's proposal)
#9th Inning: The return a player that backed out (Nan Hee learns Jung Joo lied about not making Major League, lists all the loves in Nan Hee's past)
#10th Inning: The After effect of an Injury (Chun Hee tries to apologize to Nan Hee's colleague to not sue Lotte/Nan Hee and Hyun Tae date at resort-he admits he likes her) their first kiss
#11th Inning: On the 15th of every month, there is a Civil Defense Exercise (Nan Hee avoids Hyun Tae post their vacation at the resort)
#12th Inning: It seems ike our friendship is coming to an end at the bottom of the 9th inng 2 outs (Plans to see "LOVE LETTER" with Hyun Tae but Yoon Sung Ah has returned)
#13th Inning: Reality & Wrong Intuition, Truth & Imagination, and getting poisoned
#14th Inning: The wish green grass still remembers your story
#15th Inning: Thank you super stars (Nan Hee misses Hyun Tae and not used to living alone now, she gets drunk and sees him at his home outside and she kisses him and tells him she loves him Nan Hee misses being selected as an essay writer)
#16th Inning (finale): Baseball is a game of chance.(Jung Joo makes major league, and Nan Hee and Hyun Tae start dating, receive letter from themselves at 20 Author Shin want Nan Hee as her editor)
Thursday, December 6, 2007
9회말 2아웃/9 End 2 Outs-Korean Drama
9회말 2아웃 (AKA: Bottom of the 9th 2 Out) I watched three episodes and I liked it a lot. It is romance and it chronicles two friends who have known each other from childhood. This drama chronicles their lives being single in their 30's. This drama uses Baseball as a metaphor to cover young 30's and their love lives. From their relationships with friends, colleagues and their loves. It is not that simple as you fill your life with memories, experiences from your personal hardships and happiness. For Hong Nan Hee (Soo Ae), she is considered a failure by her mom for not being married or having a "well paying" job. Nan Hee wants to be a published author!She works for a small manhwa publishing company for low pay and is dating a university baseball player who is 8 years her junior. Her childhood friend Byun Hyun Tae is a head project leader for an advertising firm and to the women around him he has it all-looks, aparment, car and job. He is a player and loves women. But to his childhood friend Nan Hee, she does not see him in that way as a "man" and the same for him. They have known each other for 30 years since childhood and their parents are good friends. I am going to "slowly watch" it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcZaFp_4mRw Byul (별) - Fly Again (9 End 2 Outs OST)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2LGdfq5_s&feature=related 9 End 2 Outs 9회말 2아웃 - Arirang Showbiz Extra (subbed in English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggj5_KI37po&feature=related Trailer preview of (9 End and 2 Outs)
Title: 9회말 2아웃 / 9 End 2 Outs
Also known as: 2 Outs in the 9th Inning
(MBC 2007 drama)
Main Cast
Lee Jung Jin 이정진 as Byun Hyung Tae
Soo Ae 박수애 as Hong Nan Hee
Lee Tae Sung as Kim Jung Joo (Nan Hee's young baseball BF)
Hwang Ji Hyun as Yoon Sung Ah (Hyung Tae's cheot sarang)
Lee Sang Woo as Lee Joon Mo (Nan Hee's cheot sarang)
Extended Cast
Jung Da Hye as Kim Nam Jung
Lee Doo Il as Im Nak Bin
Jo Eun Ji as Kim Choon Hee (Lotte card worker/friend of Hyung Tae and Nan Hee)
Hwang Suk Jung as Jang Choo Ja
Kim Chang Sook as Kim Shin Ja
Jang Joon Hwi as Park Sang Hoon (Husband and friends with Hyung Tae and Nan Hee)
Son Jung Min as Jun Mi Kyung
Lee Hee Do as Byun Jung Woo
Park Hae Young as Park Ji Sun
Im Yoon Ah as Shin Joo Young (young author/admirer of Jung Joo)
Yoon Hye Jung
Yoon Ye Hee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcZaFp_4mRw Byul (별) - Fly Again (9 End 2 Outs OST)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L2LGdfq5_s&feature=related 9 End 2 Outs 9회말 2아웃 - Arirang Showbiz Extra (subbed in English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ggj5_KI37po&feature=related Trailer preview of (9 End and 2 Outs)
Title: 9회말 2아웃 / 9 End 2 Outs
Also known as: 2 Outs in the 9th Inning
(MBC 2007 drama)
Main Cast
Lee Jung Jin 이정진 as Byun Hyung Tae
Soo Ae 박수애 as Hong Nan Hee
Lee Tae Sung as Kim Jung Joo (Nan Hee's young baseball BF)
Hwang Ji Hyun as Yoon Sung Ah (Hyung Tae's cheot sarang)
Lee Sang Woo as Lee Joon Mo (Nan Hee's cheot sarang)
Extended Cast
Jung Da Hye as Kim Nam Jung
Lee Doo Il as Im Nak Bin
Jo Eun Ji as Kim Choon Hee (Lotte card worker/friend of Hyung Tae and Nan Hee)
Hwang Suk Jung as Jang Choo Ja
Kim Chang Sook as Kim Shin Ja
Jang Joon Hwi as Park Sang Hoon (Husband and friends with Hyung Tae and Nan Hee)
Son Jung Min as Jun Mi Kyung
Lee Hee Do as Byun Jung Woo
Park Hae Young as Park Ji Sun
Im Yoon Ah as Shin Joo Young (young author/admirer of Jung Joo)
Yoon Hye Jung
Yoon Ye Hee
Undoing to Premiere in Boston
Friday night (tomorrow) is the start of a limited three day engagement of the latest movie by Chris Chan Lee "Undoing" at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge near the Harvard Campus. There is a special pre-movie reception at Casablanca Restaurant the star Sung Kang (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift) and the producers will be on hand. After the first showing, there will be a special Q & A for attendees too.
"Undoing" also stars Russell Wong, Kelly Hu, Leonardo Nam, Bobby Lee.
The synopsis (wikipedia):
After a mysterious year-long absence, SAM KIM (Sung Kang) returns to Los Angeles determined to find redemption from the past. His mentor and only friend, DON OSA (Tom Bower), is a retired gangster with a parallel desire to leave the former world behind. But as Sam tries to balance revenge with reconciliation, he is drawn back to the shadowy world he left behind. Can Sam undo his mistakes before losing what he came back to save?
The story unfolds as we learn about the night, a year ago, when Sam and JOON (Leonardo Nam) meet for a joyride through Koreatown. Joon has more serious plans for the evening, but they soon go terribly wrong, leaving Sam alone and lost in a world he desperately wants to escape.
A year later, Sam returns to the scene of the crime, and with Don’s help, finishes what he should have done a year ago. But just as things appear to be resolved, we find out that Sam came back not only to avenge Joon’s death, but also to win back his love, VERA (Kelly Hu). Sam locates Vera working as a waitress/bar manager at the Red Room, and they’re suddenly thrown back into their impossible desires for each other; two people who seem hopelessly isolated from the world around them and from each other. Abandoned a year ago, Vera resents Samuel and now finds herself deep in debt and also emotionally entangled with the owner of the Red Room, RANDALL (Jose Zuniga). With no family and no outside resources, Sam must return to the Koreatown streets of his past in attempt to settle Vera’s obligations, as well as his own debts to the past. His reckless naiveté leads him to hustle a corrupt, veteran police detective named KASAWA (Mary Mara). Unbeknownst to others, Kasawa and Sam’s mentor Don share a history in a former generation of inner-city crime. Though the two have led their lives in opposing order: one in law enforcement and the other in crime; they share a unique bond in their attempt to find comfort in the niche they’ve spent a lifetime carving out. But Sam stirs chaos and, in classical noir form, “good” and “bad” are not so easy to differentiate; each character struggles with the conflicting impulses of good and evil in the world around him, and in themselves.
"Undoing" also stars Russell Wong, Kelly Hu, Leonardo Nam, Bobby Lee.
The synopsis (wikipedia):
After a mysterious year-long absence, SAM KIM (Sung Kang) returns to Los Angeles determined to find redemption from the past. His mentor and only friend, DON OSA (Tom Bower), is a retired gangster with a parallel desire to leave the former world behind. But as Sam tries to balance revenge with reconciliation, he is drawn back to the shadowy world he left behind. Can Sam undo his mistakes before losing what he came back to save?
The story unfolds as we learn about the night, a year ago, when Sam and JOON (Leonardo Nam) meet for a joyride through Koreatown. Joon has more serious plans for the evening, but they soon go terribly wrong, leaving Sam alone and lost in a world he desperately wants to escape.
A year later, Sam returns to the scene of the crime, and with Don’s help, finishes what he should have done a year ago. But just as things appear to be resolved, we find out that Sam came back not only to avenge Joon’s death, but also to win back his love, VERA (Kelly Hu). Sam locates Vera working as a waitress/bar manager at the Red Room, and they’re suddenly thrown back into their impossible desires for each other; two people who seem hopelessly isolated from the world around them and from each other. Abandoned a year ago, Vera resents Samuel and now finds herself deep in debt and also emotionally entangled with the owner of the Red Room, RANDALL (Jose Zuniga). With no family and no outside resources, Sam must return to the Koreatown streets of his past in attempt to settle Vera’s obligations, as well as his own debts to the past. His reckless naiveté leads him to hustle a corrupt, veteran police detective named KASAWA (Mary Mara). Unbeknownst to others, Kasawa and Sam’s mentor Don share a history in a former generation of inner-city crime. Though the two have led their lives in opposing order: one in law enforcement and the other in crime; they share a unique bond in their attempt to find comfort in the niche they’ve spent a lifetime carving out. But Sam stirs chaos and, in classical noir form, “good” and “bad” are not so easy to differentiate; each character struggles with the conflicting impulses of good and evil in the world around him, and in themselves.
Steps/The Whole City is Dancing 舞動全城 (TVB Drama 2007)
I recently started watching "Steps/The Whole City is Dancing 舞動全城" a TVB production when I went to see A Mei at Mohegan Sun on the bus. I luckily that night asked my mom about it. Well luck would have it, she had just rented it. So she is going to let me watch it before returning to her video store rental place. I am very behind on TVB productions. Growing up I watched a lot of them but not anymore.
I find it cool they have Chinese Characters when they have the dramas as I can practice my reading and I am glad I understand Cantonese too.
So far I have watched three episodes. I love anything related to dancing. There is ball room dancing so that has kept my interest. The characters in this drama are alright but it is the dancing I like the best in this drama.
Cast: Liu Bernice Jan 廖碧兒 , Steven Ma 馬浚偉, Tsui Tsz Shan 徐子珊, Lai Yiu Cheung 黎耀祥 , Chen Fa La 陳法拉 , Matthew Ko 高鈞賢 , Claire Yiu 姚嘉妮 , Stephen Wong 黃長興
http://tvb4abcs.blogspot.com/2007/09/tvb-steps.html (blog with downloadable episodes)
SYNOPSIS (wikipedia)
Exotic Salsa, Fussy CHA CHA CHA,
Flirtatious Tango, A Mixture of Dancing Harmony
Ballroom dancing emphasizes rhythm and mutual trust between the partners. If we can apply the same philosophy to our daily communication practices, we are likely to find ourselves in greater harmony and our lives will surely be enriched.
Dance lover Lee Sum Ying (Bernice Liu) is going to audition for a place in the Hong Kong Dance Company. Before the audition starts, she bumps into her brother Lee Lik Keung (Wayne Lai) and his colleague Ching Ka Tsun (Steven Ma) at a supermarket, where she is accidentally run over by Tsun’s trolley and hurts herself. Due to her arm injury, Ying does not perform well in the audition and fails the assessment. At the invitation of Tsun’s mother, Ying goes to teach Latin dance at a local community center, in the hope that she can save up enough money for further studies abroad. Ying has a very warm personality and is well-liked by many of her students. Her popularity eventually lands her a teaching job at a dance workshop, which makes another dance tutor, Ching Ka Man (Fala Chen), incredibly jealous. Man dislikes Ying so much that she means to make things difficult for her in every possible way.
Yeung Sze Man (Kate Tsui), the daughter of Tsun’s boss, is appointed to take charge of the company. In order to improve staff morale, Man has announced a series of reforms. She needs her staff to learn dancing so that they can get more physical exercise. Ying is hired as the dance teacher of Tsun and his colleagues. Tsun, who has some knowledge in dancing, has soon resumed his interest in this expressive form of art. Ying and Tsun have gradually developed a close bond with each other and even decided to take part in an international dance competition as partners, but the pair’s relationship is put to the test when Tsun and Keung later fall out over business matters. The discord between the two men has put Ying in dilemma…
I find it cool they have Chinese Characters when they have the dramas as I can practice my reading and I am glad I understand Cantonese too.
So far I have watched three episodes. I love anything related to dancing. There is ball room dancing so that has kept my interest. The characters in this drama are alright but it is the dancing I like the best in this drama.
Cast: Liu Bernice Jan 廖碧兒 , Steven Ma 馬浚偉, Tsui Tsz Shan 徐子珊, Lai Yiu Cheung 黎耀祥 , Chen Fa La 陳法拉 , Matthew Ko 高鈞賢 , Claire Yiu 姚嘉妮 , Stephen Wong 黃長興
http://tvb4abcs.blogspot.com/2007/09/tvb-steps.html (blog with downloadable episodes)
SYNOPSIS (wikipedia)
Exotic Salsa, Fussy CHA CHA CHA,
Flirtatious Tango, A Mixture of Dancing Harmony
Ballroom dancing emphasizes rhythm and mutual trust between the partners. If we can apply the same philosophy to our daily communication practices, we are likely to find ourselves in greater harmony and our lives will surely be enriched.
Dance lover Lee Sum Ying (Bernice Liu) is going to audition for a place in the Hong Kong Dance Company. Before the audition starts, she bumps into her brother Lee Lik Keung (Wayne Lai) and his colleague Ching Ka Tsun (Steven Ma) at a supermarket, where she is accidentally run over by Tsun’s trolley and hurts herself. Due to her arm injury, Ying does not perform well in the audition and fails the assessment. At the invitation of Tsun’s mother, Ying goes to teach Latin dance at a local community center, in the hope that she can save up enough money for further studies abroad. Ying has a very warm personality and is well-liked by many of her students. Her popularity eventually lands her a teaching job at a dance workshop, which makes another dance tutor, Ching Ka Man (Fala Chen), incredibly jealous. Man dislikes Ying so much that she means to make things difficult for her in every possible way.
Yeung Sze Man (Kate Tsui), the daughter of Tsun’s boss, is appointed to take charge of the company. In order to improve staff morale, Man has announced a series of reforms. She needs her staff to learn dancing so that they can get more physical exercise. Ying is hired as the dance teacher of Tsun and his colleagues. Tsun, who has some knowledge in dancing, has soon resumed his interest in this expressive form of art. Ying and Tsun have gradually developed a close bond with each other and even decided to take part in an international dance competition as partners, but the pair’s relationship is put to the test when Tsun and Keung later fall out over business matters. The discord between the two men has put Ying in dilemma…
Monday, December 3, 2007
Love Truly-진짜진짜좋아해 (MBC Korean Drama 2006)
Love Truly (aka I Really, Really Like You)(진짜진짜좋아해 / Jin Jjah Jin Jjah Joh Ah Hae)
(Japanese title: めっちゃ大好き Chinese Title: 真的真的喜歡你」
This 34/36 episode drama (depends what version AZN uses) is slated to start after Air City ends on AZN TV. (I was getting frustrated wtih AZN when they would not show which drama would come next. Finally, I can find out without having to check on the "DAY" of the new drama starting. It will debut on December 11, 2007 on the 10:30PM (EST) slot.
Eugene as Yeo Bong-soon (other drama "Wonderful Life")
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基) as Nam Bong-ki (other drama "Dal Ja's Spring")
Ryu Jin 류진as Jang Joon-won (other drama I saw-"Summer Scent")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AehDqCliz5g (INTRO clip for this Drama)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r4CeygV8hc&feature=related (PROMO clip in Japanese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLiQ9Stegwg&feature=related (Gangwon Dialect-Eugene)
Plot synopsis from MBC website:
There’s no ‘nobody.’ Everybody is once an important person to somebody.The Life Story of Beautiful-minded People; ‘The true meaning and hope of life can be learned from ordinary people.’ What makes Love Truly different from other stories is its characters; those who work in the Blue House (Korean presidential residence). This drama introduces the viewers the place considered mysterious and tabooed in TV dramas. It also features the people working inside the most unknown place in the country. Even though the presidential residence is the main setting of the story, the main characters of the story aren’t the presidential family. The story focuses on the true residents of the Blue House; those who have always been in the very center of the history, but remained nameless for many years.
In this story, the viewers will meet the presidential cook, kitchen staff, a carpenter, a photographer, bodyguards and other workers. These people are working in the most unusual and interesting place in Korea. Nobody recognizes their hard work, but they strongly believe that the food they cook, the door they fix, and a phone call they answer can make a difference. They take their work very seriously and always do their best. The story features the simple, but noble spirit of those who love their job and work hard. Therefore, the Blue House in this story represents the workplace of the hardest working people in the country, rather than the secret and off-limits presidential residence.
Characters: (also from mbc.co.kr)
Yeo, Bong-soon (Actor: Yu Jin-EUGENE): 25 years old, cook She’s a happy, fun-loving, honest and unpredictable person. She loves daydreaming. She’s always thinking about something. She’s such a bookworm. Her little room is filled with stacks of books. She loves eating. She recently realizes that she’s a gifted cook. She used to live with her grandmother in the middle of nowhere. Since she was completely out of touch with the world, she seems like an alien to other people. She runs into problems at every corner in the bustling metropolis of Seoul. She gets carsick all the time. She speaks with a very thick Kang-won (East province of Korea) accent. For most people, it’s almost impossible to understand exactly what she says. However, it’s easy to like her. She’s incredibly diligent. She’s always on the move. She gets up at 4 in the morning as she used to do in her hometown. Her assiduity bothers Bong-ki who is extremely lazy. Soon she realizes that there isn’t much to do in the city at 4 in the morning, so she takes a job delivering milk. Her neighbors have hard time understanding her. For them, her interest in other people’s business seems unnecessary. They aren’t used to getting help that they don’t ask for. However, as time goes by, they start opening their hearts and accept her.
Nam, Bong-ki (Actor: Lee, Min-ki): 28 years old, bodyguard He’s tall and good-looking. His physical appearance seems almost perfect. However, he’s terribly lazy and self-centered. He’s such a player and he looks down on women. He’s the kind of person that people love to hate. He doesn’t want to get involved in other people’s lives. He’s a very individualistic and selfish person. He tries to avoid anything that requires responsibility. He doesn’t have any problem saying no when someone asks for his help. He doesn’t feel bad about anything. He loves shoes and collects them. He often argues with his father who isn’t happy with his being shallow. Appearance means everything to him. He’s very popular with women. He knows many women. He even categorizes them by appearance. According to his classification, Bong-soon belongs to the lowest group. He never wastes his money and time on the ‘unqualified’ women. He once fell in love with a woman. She was his high school sweetheart. However, after his girlfriend of 7 years left him to marry a doctor, he hates all the doctors in the world. He becomes the bodyguard of the president’s son, Jang Jun-won. Ironically, he’s a doctor. Bong-ki can never understand Jun-won. ‘How can a married man fall for another woman? How can any man fall for Bong-soon?’ However, protecting this man is his job. He’s confused; it seems that he’s instead protecting Bong-soon from Jun-won. He follows Jun-won everywhere; the hospital, operation room, rest room and his house.
Jang Jun-won (Actor: Ryu Jin): 31 years old, the son of the presidentHe’s always smiling. He’s as handsome as a movie star. He’s very intelligent and kind. The women in the hospital where he’s working all agree that he’s the sexiest doctor in the country. He’s generous, modest and warm-hearted. He’s very popular with his patients. It’s hard to believe that he’s the son of the president. He’s not interested in the way he looks. In truth, he doesn’t have time to worry about such things. His hair is usually messy and his clothes aren’t always clean. Judging by appearance, Bong-ki looks more like the son of an important person. Only a few people know that his father is the president. Without knowing that Jun-won has a bodyguard, people find it strange that Bong-ki is always following Jun-won. He’s been married for five years. He has a five-year-old daughter. His wife has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for three years. Jun-won feels helpless about the fact that he can’t do anything to make her better. His in-laws want him to get a divorce and start a new life. However, he can’t give up on his wife unless she wants to leave him.
*Characters surrounding Bong-soon*
Lee Han-sook (47 years old /Geum Bo-rah) As woman as one can be, a woman whose womanhood is stronger that motherhood, and as meek and sentimental as she can be. She is still very beautiful but was even more stunning when she was younger and was once able to become an actress and still dwells upon those days. She can sometimes be ignorant, frivolous and boastful. She has a lot of affection, which keeps guys surrounding her, but her boasting also gets her into a lot of trouble. As well, the fact that she has a lot of grudges held inside her heart causes her to have a lot of tears. Her fate tells her that if she had become an actor or something of that sort she would’ve become big, but because she didn’t go into that field she thinks that her life is filled with twists and turns. Every guy she has met has had some kind of problem, and in order to fix her fate she got married to a man with children and lots of money. Three years into their marriage, however, he died in an unexpected accident. Eventually she ended up taking care of all his children. She also loses all the assets he left her to all sorts of frauds, and the job she took in order to make a living, being an extra for different TV shows, is her current job. This job is where she met Hyun-joon’s father; a complete romantic who is 5 years younger than her and marries her despite his family’s protests, because he loves her. The son she had with him is Hyun-joon, but this awesome romantic tragically leaves her for his new love 7 years into their marriage.
Geum Soo-kyeong (19 years old /Shin Min-hee)Han-sook’s stepdaughter.The daughter of Han-sook’s second husband’s first wife, a senior in high school, who looks like she’s in her mid-twenties when not wearing her school uniform because of her stunning supermodel body and looks. A complete rebellious girl and juvenile delinquent, who transfers from this school to that school in order to avoid getting kicked out of school, her misdeeds are not done secretly but in order to drive her stepmother insane because she hates her to death. Like a child planning on how to make Han-sook’s life unbearably miserable she endlessly has her called to school and to the police department. There was a time when she opened her heart up to her stepmother; the time when she promised to take care of her and her sibling like her own children but the very same woman who promised to take care of them went ahead and got married to another young man, taking them with her. There were days when she wanted to take her sibling and run away to an orphanage but she didn’t have enough courage to actually do it. Her stepmother took her and her sibling by the hand and awkwardly walked into her new husband’s house. Soo-kyeong can not forget the feeling of humiliation she felt that day watching her stepmother laugh and flirt in the arms of another guy, forgetting about her father. She decided never to forgive her stepmother from that day on and herself for still being next to her stepmother and not being able to leave her. Soo-kyeong, cynical and cold, a girl who has nothing she wants to do or be; a girl is suffering severely from growing pains.
*Characters surrounding Bong-ki*Nam Dae-shik (61 years old /Bong-ki’s father-Jang Yeong) A character who never wears socks and wears his pants folded up all year long. A hot-tempered perfectionist. He came into the Blue House in charge of the greenhouse and has been working there as a carpenter for 30 years. He has worked there the longest and has served 7 presidents during his time there. He worked at the general affairs secretary’s office and retired, but because of his excellent work skills he was called back to work on a contract basis. He knows about every single corner of the Blue House and there is not a place in the building which hasn’t been touched by him, so his existence is absolutely needed. His one super secret is that he’s fallen in love! There is absolutely not a single feminine trait on this woman but interestingly enough every time he sees her, his heart beats. Love at such an old age... The tingling feeling, the loneliness, the embarrassments...
Lee Sang-jik (48 years old /Chief of the Blue House Guard Department-Yoon Seung-won) The best bodyguard, a man who has served 3 successive presidents. A professional with an upright nature and strong will to get things done. He is one of the bodyguards that all the juniors look up to and want to be like. He never gets mixed up with official or personal matters, in fact he’s so precise that at an unofficial occasion or event he can be fun and easygoing, but when at work he is sharp, full of charisma and a strict trainer of his juniors. His one goal these days is to train a guard to take his place. He watches Bong-ki and Joo-yeup closely and sometimes makes them compete with one another, purposely getting them upset and driving them through extra hard trainings. Out of all the butlers in the Blue House they are the most powerful but have poor economic power. He has thrown all his money into sending his wife, son and daughter abroad to study and lives a miserable life in his small single room. The fact that he lives in a small, rented room at Bong-ki’s house is his biggest secret. Because of that, he sometimes feels threatened by Bong-ki.
Kim Joo-yeup (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoo Tae-june)Bong-ki and he entered the Blue House together as guards. He is a born student and after his training goes right to the President Guard team. He is a social climber, wanting to be the best guard, and by nature the exact opposite of Bong-ki. He is moving up with his precise judgments and will to reason in any given situation. He has the abilities, looks, and the body but his one flaw is that he has a very cold heart. He is always in competition with Bong-ki and Bong-ki in fact is loved by all the women working in the Blue House. His martial arts skills are outstanding but when in competition with Bong-ki he is always a step late and loses to him because of their differences in fighting style. Bong-ki springs at anything while he calculates every move. Though it is always him who wins in a competition with Bong-ki, his anxiety to defeat him swells inside of his heart. Joo-yeup wants to become Korea’s best bodyguard, but what is the best bodyguard? He lacks skills in dating, something he looks like he would be good at. He is the only son of a police station chief.
Kang Moon-seuk (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoon Ji-hoo)Bong-ki’s closest colleague, he gets placed in the investigations department with Bong-ki after training. He is a lot like Bong-ki, mischievous and full of humor. He is able to play a lot of games and other miscellaneous stuff. He is especially good at singing, even better than some singers. He is in great shape and his looks aren’t all that bad, in addition to that his has great dancing skills, which gets him all the girls…at least until he starts to talk, when all his charisma comes crashing down. He grew up in the Hwang Young-jo village in Samcheuk so he has a Kangwon-do dialect. He has great love and pride for his hometown and he proudly talks about how he is the second person to really succeed, after Hwang Young-jo, from his village. He is excited when he meets Bong-soon because she is from the same town as him and helps her with everything he can. He acts as a dialect interpreter between Bong-ki and Bong-soon. He loves Bong-ki, and even though Bong-ki tries everything to get out of work, in the end he is always the one that ends up actually doing to work. While Bong-ki judges people by their looks Moon-seuk thinks that there is no one like him. His family owns a restaurant in Samcheuk. He is the first son and is known as a very faithful son.
(Japanese title: めっちゃ大好き Chinese Title: 真的真的喜歡你」
This 34/36 episode drama (depends what version AZN uses) is slated to start after Air City ends on AZN TV. (I was getting frustrated wtih AZN when they would not show which drama would come next. Finally, I can find out without having to check on the "DAY" of the new drama starting. It will debut on December 11, 2007 on the 10:30PM (EST) slot.
Eugene as Yeo Bong-soon (other drama "Wonderful Life")
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基) as Nam Bong-ki (other drama "Dal Ja's Spring")
Ryu Jin 류진as Jang Joon-won (other drama I saw-"Summer Scent")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AehDqCliz5g (INTRO clip for this Drama)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4r4CeygV8hc&feature=related (PROMO clip in Japanese)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLiQ9Stegwg&feature=related (Gangwon Dialect-Eugene)
Plot synopsis from MBC website:
There’s no ‘nobody.’ Everybody is once an important person to somebody.The Life Story of Beautiful-minded People; ‘The true meaning and hope of life can be learned from ordinary people.’ What makes Love Truly different from other stories is its characters; those who work in the Blue House (Korean presidential residence). This drama introduces the viewers the place considered mysterious and tabooed in TV dramas. It also features the people working inside the most unknown place in the country. Even though the presidential residence is the main setting of the story, the main characters of the story aren’t the presidential family. The story focuses on the true residents of the Blue House; those who have always been in the very center of the history, but remained nameless for many years.
In this story, the viewers will meet the presidential cook, kitchen staff, a carpenter, a photographer, bodyguards and other workers. These people are working in the most unusual and interesting place in Korea. Nobody recognizes their hard work, but they strongly believe that the food they cook, the door they fix, and a phone call they answer can make a difference. They take their work very seriously and always do their best. The story features the simple, but noble spirit of those who love their job and work hard. Therefore, the Blue House in this story represents the workplace of the hardest working people in the country, rather than the secret and off-limits presidential residence.
Characters: (also from mbc.co.kr)
Yeo, Bong-soon (Actor: Yu Jin-EUGENE): 25 years old, cook She’s a happy, fun-loving, honest and unpredictable person. She loves daydreaming. She’s always thinking about something. She’s such a bookworm. Her little room is filled with stacks of books. She loves eating. She recently realizes that she’s a gifted cook. She used to live with her grandmother in the middle of nowhere. Since she was completely out of touch with the world, she seems like an alien to other people. She runs into problems at every corner in the bustling metropolis of Seoul. She gets carsick all the time. She speaks with a very thick Kang-won (East province of Korea) accent. For most people, it’s almost impossible to understand exactly what she says. However, it’s easy to like her. She’s incredibly diligent. She’s always on the move. She gets up at 4 in the morning as she used to do in her hometown. Her assiduity bothers Bong-ki who is extremely lazy. Soon she realizes that there isn’t much to do in the city at 4 in the morning, so she takes a job delivering milk. Her neighbors have hard time understanding her. For them, her interest in other people’s business seems unnecessary. They aren’t used to getting help that they don’t ask for. However, as time goes by, they start opening their hearts and accept her.
Nam, Bong-ki (Actor: Lee, Min-ki): 28 years old, bodyguard He’s tall and good-looking. His physical appearance seems almost perfect. However, he’s terribly lazy and self-centered. He’s such a player and he looks down on women. He’s the kind of person that people love to hate. He doesn’t want to get involved in other people’s lives. He’s a very individualistic and selfish person. He tries to avoid anything that requires responsibility. He doesn’t have any problem saying no when someone asks for his help. He doesn’t feel bad about anything. He loves shoes and collects them. He often argues with his father who isn’t happy with his being shallow. Appearance means everything to him. He’s very popular with women. He knows many women. He even categorizes them by appearance. According to his classification, Bong-soon belongs to the lowest group. He never wastes his money and time on the ‘unqualified’ women. He once fell in love with a woman. She was his high school sweetheart. However, after his girlfriend of 7 years left him to marry a doctor, he hates all the doctors in the world. He becomes the bodyguard of the president’s son, Jang Jun-won. Ironically, he’s a doctor. Bong-ki can never understand Jun-won. ‘How can a married man fall for another woman? How can any man fall for Bong-soon?’ However, protecting this man is his job. He’s confused; it seems that he’s instead protecting Bong-soon from Jun-won. He follows Jun-won everywhere; the hospital, operation room, rest room and his house.
Jang Jun-won (Actor: Ryu Jin): 31 years old, the son of the presidentHe’s always smiling. He’s as handsome as a movie star. He’s very intelligent and kind. The women in the hospital where he’s working all agree that he’s the sexiest doctor in the country. He’s generous, modest and warm-hearted. He’s very popular with his patients. It’s hard to believe that he’s the son of the president. He’s not interested in the way he looks. In truth, he doesn’t have time to worry about such things. His hair is usually messy and his clothes aren’t always clean. Judging by appearance, Bong-ki looks more like the son of an important person. Only a few people know that his father is the president. Without knowing that Jun-won has a bodyguard, people find it strange that Bong-ki is always following Jun-won. He’s been married for five years. He has a five-year-old daughter. His wife has been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for three years. Jun-won feels helpless about the fact that he can’t do anything to make her better. His in-laws want him to get a divorce and start a new life. However, he can’t give up on his wife unless she wants to leave him.
*Characters surrounding Bong-soon*
Lee Han-sook (47 years old /Geum Bo-rah) As woman as one can be, a woman whose womanhood is stronger that motherhood, and as meek and sentimental as she can be. She is still very beautiful but was even more stunning when she was younger and was once able to become an actress and still dwells upon those days. She can sometimes be ignorant, frivolous and boastful. She has a lot of affection, which keeps guys surrounding her, but her boasting also gets her into a lot of trouble. As well, the fact that she has a lot of grudges held inside her heart causes her to have a lot of tears. Her fate tells her that if she had become an actor or something of that sort she would’ve become big, but because she didn’t go into that field she thinks that her life is filled with twists and turns. Every guy she has met has had some kind of problem, and in order to fix her fate she got married to a man with children and lots of money. Three years into their marriage, however, he died in an unexpected accident. Eventually she ended up taking care of all his children. She also loses all the assets he left her to all sorts of frauds, and the job she took in order to make a living, being an extra for different TV shows, is her current job. This job is where she met Hyun-joon’s father; a complete romantic who is 5 years younger than her and marries her despite his family’s protests, because he loves her. The son she had with him is Hyun-joon, but this awesome romantic tragically leaves her for his new love 7 years into their marriage.
Geum Soo-kyeong (19 years old /Shin Min-hee)Han-sook’s stepdaughter.The daughter of Han-sook’s second husband’s first wife, a senior in high school, who looks like she’s in her mid-twenties when not wearing her school uniform because of her stunning supermodel body and looks. A complete rebellious girl and juvenile delinquent, who transfers from this school to that school in order to avoid getting kicked out of school, her misdeeds are not done secretly but in order to drive her stepmother insane because she hates her to death. Like a child planning on how to make Han-sook’s life unbearably miserable she endlessly has her called to school and to the police department. There was a time when she opened her heart up to her stepmother; the time when she promised to take care of her and her sibling like her own children but the very same woman who promised to take care of them went ahead and got married to another young man, taking them with her. There were days when she wanted to take her sibling and run away to an orphanage but she didn’t have enough courage to actually do it. Her stepmother took her and her sibling by the hand and awkwardly walked into her new husband’s house. Soo-kyeong can not forget the feeling of humiliation she felt that day watching her stepmother laugh and flirt in the arms of another guy, forgetting about her father. She decided never to forgive her stepmother from that day on and herself for still being next to her stepmother and not being able to leave her. Soo-kyeong, cynical and cold, a girl who has nothing she wants to do or be; a girl is suffering severely from growing pains.
*Characters surrounding Bong-ki*Nam Dae-shik (61 years old /Bong-ki’s father-Jang Yeong) A character who never wears socks and wears his pants folded up all year long. A hot-tempered perfectionist. He came into the Blue House in charge of the greenhouse and has been working there as a carpenter for 30 years. He has worked there the longest and has served 7 presidents during his time there. He worked at the general affairs secretary’s office and retired, but because of his excellent work skills he was called back to work on a contract basis. He knows about every single corner of the Blue House and there is not a place in the building which hasn’t been touched by him, so his existence is absolutely needed. His one super secret is that he’s fallen in love! There is absolutely not a single feminine trait on this woman but interestingly enough every time he sees her, his heart beats. Love at such an old age... The tingling feeling, the loneliness, the embarrassments...
Lee Sang-jik (48 years old /Chief of the Blue House Guard Department-Yoon Seung-won) The best bodyguard, a man who has served 3 successive presidents. A professional with an upright nature and strong will to get things done. He is one of the bodyguards that all the juniors look up to and want to be like. He never gets mixed up with official or personal matters, in fact he’s so precise that at an unofficial occasion or event he can be fun and easygoing, but when at work he is sharp, full of charisma and a strict trainer of his juniors. His one goal these days is to train a guard to take his place. He watches Bong-ki and Joo-yeup closely and sometimes makes them compete with one another, purposely getting them upset and driving them through extra hard trainings. Out of all the butlers in the Blue House they are the most powerful but have poor economic power. He has thrown all his money into sending his wife, son and daughter abroad to study and lives a miserable life in his small single room. The fact that he lives in a small, rented room at Bong-ki’s house is his biggest secret. Because of that, he sometimes feels threatened by Bong-ki.
Kim Joo-yeup (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoo Tae-june)Bong-ki and he entered the Blue House together as guards. He is a born student and after his training goes right to the President Guard team. He is a social climber, wanting to be the best guard, and by nature the exact opposite of Bong-ki. He is moving up with his precise judgments and will to reason in any given situation. He has the abilities, looks, and the body but his one flaw is that he has a very cold heart. He is always in competition with Bong-ki and Bong-ki in fact is loved by all the women working in the Blue House. His martial arts skills are outstanding but when in competition with Bong-ki he is always a step late and loses to him because of their differences in fighting style. Bong-ki springs at anything while he calculates every move. Though it is always him who wins in a competition with Bong-ki, his anxiety to defeat him swells inside of his heart. Joo-yeup wants to become Korea’s best bodyguard, but what is the best bodyguard? He lacks skills in dating, something he looks like he would be good at. He is the only son of a police station chief.
Kang Moon-seuk (28 years old /Blue House guard-Yoon Ji-hoo)Bong-ki’s closest colleague, he gets placed in the investigations department with Bong-ki after training. He is a lot like Bong-ki, mischievous and full of humor. He is able to play a lot of games and other miscellaneous stuff. He is especially good at singing, even better than some singers. He is in great shape and his looks aren’t all that bad, in addition to that his has great dancing skills, which gets him all the girls…at least until he starts to talk, when all his charisma comes crashing down. He grew up in the Hwang Young-jo village in Samcheuk so he has a Kangwon-do dialect. He has great love and pride for his hometown and he proudly talks about how he is the second person to really succeed, after Hwang Young-jo, from his village. He is excited when he meets Bong-soon because she is from the same town as him and helps her with everything he can. He acts as a dialect interpreter between Bong-ki and Bong-soon. He loves Bong-ki, and even though Bong-ki tries everything to get out of work, in the end he is always the one that ends up actually doing to work. While Bong-ki judges people by their looks Moon-seuk thinks that there is no one like him. His family owns a restaurant in Samcheuk. He is the first son and is known as a very faithful son.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Drink, Drank, Drunk (HK 2005)
(www.movieexclusive.com)
(photo credit: Shaws)
(photo credit: Ilovehkfilm.com)AZN showed the romantic Hong Kong film Drink, Drank, Drunk directed by Derek Yee that came out in 2005. I like Daniel Wu (One friend aptly said if you like Andy Lau you will like Daniel Wu.) in movies and I was even more excited to find he is an overseas Chinese who is making it in Hong Kong as others are being successful. Kozo wrote a review about this film Drink, Drank, Drunk and this person writes good reviews.
Siu Min (Miriam Yeung) is a beer promotions gal who meets Michel (Daniel Wu) a Chinese French guy chef one night drinking away his sorrows. He has opened a French restaurant but the locals do not understand or appreciate his high end French cuisine and he is losing money. They both come together and open a business because Siu Min is tired of her job and sees it as a good opportunity. Slowly Siu Min falls for Michel because he is living with her (as he no longer has enough money to rent an apartment.) So the road from strangers, friends, roomies, business partners to more than friends happens pretty quickly. But Michel has another conflicting passion, the desire to see and travel the world. What will happen with them?
I actually liked the chemistry between Siu Min (Miriam Yeung) and Michel (Daniel Wu). Siu Min can out drink many people. So she does not trust anyone when they say things when they are drunk. Or it is the popular belief that drink causes people to say the truth as their inhibitions are lowered. Miriam is the queen of HK movies in terms of comedies. By harsh HK beauty standards, she is not considered one but she makes it up in terms of her likeable on screen aura. It is probably why I enjoy her films so much. It was a breezy romance comedy and I was glad to rewatch this film.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Sasuke-Ninja Warrior weekend-Makoto Nagano
Makoto Nagano-Sasuke All Star
Since I had to miss bits and pieces of the American Ninja (G4) premiere last week, I watched some of the reruns in between my study breaks over this past weekend.
So I got to see the rebuilt obstacle course after only the SECOND man in Sasuke history (started 1997) Makoto Nagano 長野 誠,(a Sasuke All Star) win during the 17th rendition and the first ninja warrior achieved it during the 4th one-Kazuhiko Akiyama in 1999 (crab fisherman). So there was show before the 18th one showing a completely redone First Stage. Some things taken off "jump hang" which always got people to lose. But it was replaced with other hard obstacles on in particular was the "spider walk" which you had to jump to tackle this obstacle. In the past it was in the second stage in various seasons and you started from the ground level. Another brutal obstacle I saw was the "salmon ladder" and the third stage edited "cliff hanger" was insane!
Season 18 started out crazy with only a few making it to stage two, alot of the all-stars did not make it past Stage 1! Only Nagano made it! But he disqualified himself on the third stage by going off course. (It was heart breaking!) Then onto Season 19, a shocking, two people made it past stage 1. Turns out that the producers/creators Sasuke did not want even ONE person to pass Stage one. They got close to their wish and by stage 2, both contestants could not pass the salmon ladder. The two American Ninja contestants from G4 could not win over the "spider walk" which was the obstacle that obliterated alot of Sasuke hopefuls.
This show is still one of my guilty pleasures! I am glad that the real commentary is still intact as I heard the UK version they took out the subtitles! I always have a great kick and laugh of what is said by the Japanese commentators.
So I got to see the rebuilt obstacle course after only the SECOND man in Sasuke history (started 1997) Makoto Nagano 長野 誠,(a Sasuke All Star) win during the 17th rendition and the first ninja warrior achieved it during the 4th one-Kazuhiko Akiyama in 1999 (crab fisherman). So there was show before the 18th one showing a completely redone First Stage. Some things taken off "jump hang" which always got people to lose. But it was replaced with other hard obstacles on in particular was the "spider walk" which you had to jump to tackle this obstacle. In the past it was in the second stage in various seasons and you started from the ground level. Another brutal obstacle I saw was the "salmon ladder" and the third stage edited "cliff hanger" was insane!
Season 18 started out crazy with only a few making it to stage two, alot of the all-stars did not make it past Stage 1! Only Nagano made it! But he disqualified himself on the third stage by going off course. (It was heart breaking!) Then onto Season 19, a shocking, two people made it past stage 1. Turns out that the producers/creators Sasuke did not want even ONE person to pass Stage one. They got close to their wish and by stage 2, both contestants could not pass the salmon ladder. The two American Ninja contestants from G4 could not win over the "spider walk" which was the obstacle that obliterated alot of Sasuke hopefuls.
This show is still one of my guilty pleasures! I am glad that the real commentary is still intact as I heard the UK version they took out the subtitles! I always have a great kick and laugh of what is said by the Japanese commentators.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWEe4nTB8e4 Makoto Nagano tackling stage one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtg_6ShqefE Makoto Nagano winning 17th season SASUKE
http://home.comcast.net/~thepowerofsasuke/naganoe.html Mini Bio on Makoto Nagano
Air City on AZN -premiered last night
I have been following the Korean dramas for a bit of time on AZN TV!
Last night, they premiered AIR CITY which I had rented last month. I will get to see it again with better subs (the English ones towards the later chapters were HORRIFIC!) Plus I will be watching it with painful commercials. I guess that is the price I have to pay.
I do like Choi Ji Woo and Lee Jung Jae. Too bad I heard it was not a hit in Korea. Then again it was against some stiff competition while it was on in Korea.
Showtime show-The Brotherhood-a clip
On the most recent episode that was shown at 10pm on Showtime this past Sunday (11/18/2007), I saw that there were two Asian guys (Chinese as they were speaking Cantonese to each other) were selling fake LV bags to Michael (Jason Isaacs) in the Showtime show "The Brotherhood" which I think is great. See the clip below! Plus the Chinese was not butchered and spot on! (What a relief and it was not painful to my ears too!)
****Showtime should really step it up on advertising this show.
Granted this blog is on Asian entertainment mainly, I wanted to point out that it is good to have Asian representation on shows. But also we need more VARIETY of characters in shows. I find that Asian men are typecasted in only a few roles criminals, martial artists, geeks etc.
I want to see more Asian men and women on TV! The American media does not accurately portray real life.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Sasuke (aka Ninja Warrior) new episodes and American on Ninja Warrior
Tonight is the long awaited NINJA fest I have been dying to see! Viewers will watch the winner of the G4 contest to find the next American Ninja Warrior (who was sent off to Japan back earlier this fall) to compete on "Sasuke" aka Ninja Warrior. (For those of you who did not get the memo it is an awesome tv show on G4. )
I have been addicted since its first few shows back in March of this year. I like that they do not dub over the original Japanese language commentary. I always get a hoot on what the commentator says! The basic premise is 100 people compete in a competition that requires contestants to go through three intense rounds (obstacle course) to try to become the next ninja warrior. Only two men have succeed in all 17 seasons of Ninja Warrior! As for the Women's Ninja Warrior, theirs is less emphasis on strength but more on balance and agility but one woman dominated and became Ninja Warrior three times in a row!
I plan to watch tonight the three brand spanking new episodes of "Sasuke" tonight!
I have been addicted since its first few shows back in March of this year. I like that they do not dub over the original Japanese language commentary. I always get a hoot on what the commentator says! The basic premise is 100 people compete in a competition that requires contestants to go through three intense rounds (obstacle course) to try to become the next ninja warrior. Only two men have succeed in all 17 seasons of Ninja Warrior! As for the Women's Ninja Warrior, theirs is less emphasis on strength but more on balance and agility but one woman dominated and became Ninja Warrior three times in a row!
I plan to watch tonight the three brand spanking new episodes of "Sasuke" tonight!
Nanking-the movie---go check it out!!!!
I recently blogged about the upcoming soon to be in limited release the movie based on Iris Chang's "Rape of Nanking" movie called "Nanking".
This film will be in limited release starting next month in December. It premieres in the Boston area at the Landmark Kendall Theaters on January 25, 2008!
Here are some web links for more information:
http://www.nankingthefilm.com/press.aspx (this link will have many articles written up about the film)
http://www.nankingthefilm.com/ (the film's website) ****You can sign up to get updates when it comes to your a theater near you or when the DVD is out.
http://ted.aol.com/category.php?catID=359 Ted Leonsis the producer of the film found moi's blog entry and linked to it about the Boston Premiere event (last Friday) where Iris Chang's parents both attended on the third anniversary of her death.
Thanks Ted for producing this film!
Go out and tell your friends, family and support this film!
(*Please note that there are might be some material that will be unsuitable for young children.)
This film will be in limited release starting next month in December. It premieres in the Boston area at the Landmark Kendall Theaters on January 25, 2008!
Here are some web links for more information:
http://www.nankingthefilm.com/press.aspx (this link will have many articles written up about the film)
http://www.nankingthefilm.com/ (the film's website) ****You can sign up to get updates when it comes to your a theater near you or when the DVD is out.
http://ted.aol.com/category.php?catID=359 Ted Leonsis the producer of the film found moi's blog entry and linked to it about the Boston Premiere event (last Friday) where Iris Chang's parents both attended on the third anniversary of her death.
Thanks Ted for producing this film!
Go out and tell your friends, family and support this film!
(*Please note that there are might be some material that will be unsuitable for young children.)
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Boston Area Premiere-UNDOING-Dec 7, 2007 (FR)
Undoing
showing at 9:45 and midnight (2006) dir Chris Chan Lee w/ Sung Kang, Kelly Hu, Tom Bower, Russell Wong, Jose Zuniga [90 min]
After a mysterious year-long absence, Sam ("Better Luck Tomorrow" and "Finishing the Game"- Sung Kang) returns to Los Angeles determined to find redemption from the past. His mentor and only friend, Don Osa (Tom Bower), is a retired gangster with a parallel desire to leave the former world behind. But as Sam tries to balance revenge with reconciliation, he is drawn back to the shadowy world he left behind. This cool thriller set in L.A.'s Koreatown from Chris Chan Lee, director of the acclaimed Yellow, features an electric performance from Sung Kang, some great eccentric characters, and a film noir style tinged with L.A. neon. Don't miss this chance to see it on the big screen!
(source-www.brattlefilm.org)
Monday, November 12, 2007
NANKING-the movie 11.9.2007
Friday, November 9, 2007
Spent a day at work and caught up with some data entry and learned how to update and install the new ACT for Financial Planners, convert all our data whilst at work.
Went to the post office and got my Zhang Hui Mei concert ticket (yeah!). I must admit it was misleading when I got it on line I had the pick it up at the offices option. So I chose it to save $5 shipping charge. But within three days, they mailed it and had to charge me the $5. I was a bit upset. I cannot easily go to Chinatown due to my schedule but I was planning to pick it up. They could NOT wait a week? Very frustrating! I am looking forward to the concert on Thanksgiving at Mohegan Sun. Granted I am clueless to her work for the last few words but she has a great voice and I believe that she is very talented.
My sis and I grabbed some food at Boca Grande. I had not gone there in a long time. The prices went up but it was not bad for a chorizo burrito grande with rice, beans, avocado, and hot sauce.
We went the special event premiere NANKING the movie at the John Hancock at the Back Bay Event Center in the old John Hancock Center building. For our $15 tickets we were in the front area but on the side of the center tickets. There was a special performance by the North American Chorus Association with Yang Yang on the piano and Wan Jun Qiao conducted with soloist Fennie Chen singing “God Bless America.” Then there were three songs sung in Mandarin Chinese –Ballad of the Yellow River and Defending the Yellow River.
We went the special event premiere NANKING the movie at the John Hancock at the Back Bay Event Center in the old John Hancock Center building. For our $15 tickets we were in the front area but on the side of the center tickets. There was a special performance by the North American Chorus Association with Yang Yang on the piano and Wan Jun Qiao conducted with soloist Fennie Chen singing “God Bless America.” Then there were three songs sung in Mandarin Chinese –Ballad of the Yellow River and Defending the Yellow River.
Emcee Sarinna Chiang talked about the Asian American Cultural Foundation WWII Asian History Society and then introduced "Rape of Nanking" author Iris Chang’s parents Professor Ying Ying and Professor ShauJin Chang. There was moving commentary from her father and then her mother introduced a rare photo montage of Iris from childhood til adulthood. Then there was a special trailer premiere of a film on Iris Chang. Afterwards, there was a quick short film about the GA Study Tour to China in 2007 for US educators to learn about the Nanking Massacre on a paid tour to create and use their notes with lacking information within the US History books.
Then Ted Leonsis who is a top executive at AOL spoke of his experience about Iris Chang’s book and how he became inspired to produce her book to create “Nanking.” Then we saw a hour footage of the 90 minute film of “Nanking”. There was not a dry eye in the house. It was an interesting premise to use actors to read aloud the letters and dairies while there was real footage, photos and interviews with survivors pulled the film together. The emotional testimonies from the Chinese soldiers and survivors while contrasted with the non contrite Japanese soldiers’ testimonials collaborate with the Chinese survivors interviews.
War is never a good time. The world is not aware of what happened in Nanking in the English speaking world until Iris Chang wrote her book “The Rape of Nanking.” I recall my mom telling me of what the Japanese did to the Chinese during WWII and she showed me very disturbing photos and explained what had happened to the Chinese at that time. My mother always had the wish that I would write a book about this horrific historical event that the world is not common knowledge outside of Chinese language history books.
During WWII, it made sense after the Japanese took over Shanghai their next target would be the Chinese capital Nanking which was only 120 miles away. The Chinese who fled to Nanking told of horrific stories of looting, raping and killing that happened in Shanghai. Japanese were definitely planning to capture the capital in 1937. The Westerners living in Nanking at the time their personal writings-dairies and letters flushed out the actual footage and photos. The graphic photos, videos and interviews were heart breaking. Over 200,000 Chinese died and about 20,000 Chinese women were raped during this time as estimated by the Tokyo War Tribunal.
What is upsetting and disturbing is there are still Japanese who deny that this every happened. To the Chinese with my mother included, she calls it the untold Holocaust. It is important that the world knows about the Nanking Massacre. It is sad that Iris Chang is no longer with us, but her legacy lives on. Friday night marked the third anniversary of her death.
What is upsetting and disturbing is there are still Japanese who deny that this every happened. To the Chinese with my mother included, she calls it the untold Holocaust. It is important that the world knows about the Nanking Massacre. It is sad that Iris Chang is no longer with us, but her legacy lives on. Friday night marked the third anniversary of her death.
There was a brief Q and A after the movie was shown. We were informed that HBO bought the rights so it will be shown there and it will premiere in December and at the Landmark Kendall theaters in Cambridge on January 25, 2008.
For more pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20384&l=e48d1&id=575810425
Thursday, November 8, 2007
How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men (KR 2006) 애정결핍이 두 남자에게 미치는 영향
Lee Hye Young actress who plays-Mimi 
(Pics credit-Hancinema/dramawiki)
How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men - 애정결핍이 두 남자에게 미치는 영향 (Ae-jeong-gyeol-pil-i Doo Nam-ja-e-ge Mi-chi-neun Yeng-hyang) .
Cast
Baek Yoon-sik (백윤식) Dong Chul (Dad) (Like a Virgin, Art of Fighting, President's Last Bang)
Bong Tae-gyu (봉태규) Dong Hyun (Son) (Good Lawyer's Wife/Ssunday Seoul/ drama: Rooftop Cat)
Lee Hye-young (이혜영) Mimi (beautiful widow) (dramas: Dal Ja's Spring/PaPa/Cheot Sarang)
Ahn Kil-kang (안길강)
Jeong Woo (정우)
Woo Hyeon (우현)
Hwang Seok-jeong (황석정)
Baek Yoon-sik (백윤식) Dong Chul (Dad) (Like a Virgin, Art of Fighting, President's Last Bang)
Bong Tae-gyu (봉태규) Dong Hyun (Son) (Good Lawyer's Wife/Ssunday Seoul/ drama: Rooftop Cat)
Lee Hye-young (이혜영) Mimi (beautiful widow) (dramas: Dal Ja's Spring/PaPa/Cheot Sarang)
Ahn Kil-kang (안길강)
Jeong Woo (정우)
Woo Hyeon (우현)
Hwang Seok-jeong (황석정)
Synopsis (koreanfilm.or.kr)
A miserly father and his clever yet immature son live emotionally impoverished lives together. That life is interrupted when a beautiful widow moves in as a tenant. A battle between father and son to win the widow’s heart begins. No concession, No scruples, No rules.
I read a good film review by lunapark6 regarding this movie as well as by James Mudge at beyondhollywood.com.
THOUGHTS
I did not know what to expect with this film. But the acting was great and there is definitely "toilet" humor in this film. Baek Yoon Sik plays Dong Chul, always turns in an excellent performance and here plays a suave con artist who bilks money from big companies by blackmailing them. He has an old school charm about him and also lectures to others on his methods to making money. He never misses a trick.
His son Dong Hyun is well played by Bong Tae Gyu, I remember the first time I saw him was in "Rooftop Cat" as Jung Da Bin's annoying and troublesome brother. Here he is no match for his articulate father, but he has a "softer side" but if all else doesn't work, he does resort to forcefulness. They have lived quite a bit of time without a woman in their lives.
One day an attractive divorce Mimi (well played by Lee Hye Young) decides to rent the space below to open a coffee shop. Every man in this town is drooling including father and son Dong Chul and Dong Hyun. Both men decide to compete to win her affections.
Their hijinks and efforts as they both undergo to get her attention at times seem far fetched and juvenile but they really do stop at nothing to win the upper hand----tying each other up while sleeping. If all else fails, then they can even be mean to their object of desire. At times it does feel weird that both are trying to "hit" on Mimi for dates and more.
Overall it is a funny film and I had a few laughs.
Xeno (제노) and Younha 윤하 not your typical Kpop girl band group members
Younha Go( photo credit IMEEM)
(XENO 제노)
I just saw a clip of Xeno (제노) singing "I Promise". Her English singing ability is good. She has the cute tomboyish looks that with a surprisingly strong clear voice. She is clearly a young teen but she has talent potential! She came out in Korea as a 17 year old last year.
Xeno - 나쁜사람 (Bad Person) MV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhHur82yPps
Xeno- I Promise MV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mzdjcnkwI4
Many people in the industry are starting to compare her to Korean Singer Younha 윤하 who is also good at singing English songs well. Judge for yourself, I think Xeno has potential but it is premature to call Xeno is similar to Younha. But she is no Younha. Younha can sing in Japanese, English and Korean but also play the piano and can dance well. Plus she specializes in a more rock sound from what I gather on the net.
Younha - Secret Number 486 (English Subtitles)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_X2BG3bASQ
Younha - Because of you (Kelly Clarkson's song)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Har5JOmGcdo
Younha - How Do I Live (English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBj_5wfXFYY
Younha - Since U Been Gone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IghqZWxGVq0
Younha - Love Condition (연애조건) Perf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZz5QnGb8cU
Younha - Audition (Her debut MV)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q33k4Jr7wI
Younha (윤하) - Gida Rida (기다리다)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BB830720C8
Te Wo Tsunaide~YOUNHA~(English subs)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOdbKAPVyq0
Arirang TV Interview with Younha (English Subbed) Showbiz extra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAyluLj2DIY
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Dal Ja's Spring (KR 2007) 달자의 봄
(KBS/wiki.d-addicts)
Dal Ja's Spring (aka Spring of Oh Dal Ja) (KR KBS2- 2007) 달자의 봄 is a recent drama I caught that was broadcast during January to March of 2007. It marks the first drama for Chae Rim since her divorce from her husband. I really loved Chae Rim in this drama! It is nice to see her comedic side here as a 33 year old woman who never really had a relationship but she has a great career! She may be fumble and not be perfect, but her colleagues and people around her enjoy her warm earnestness, good heart and ever present smile and good attitude.
This drama spanned 22 episodes and it was a fun journey. I thought the episode titles were cute (see below) and the artwork used was nice. There were some homages to various movies, dramas within the drama that I laughed at such as to "Hwangjini", "Chariots of Fire", "The Bodyguard", and "Rocky" to name a few. Overall I thought the acting was solid, though I did not find Lee Min Ki (as Tae Bong) as believable. He seemed a bit stiff and not as fluid and natural as Chae Rim. Even the older generation---Tae Bong's parents and Dal Ja's grandmother and mom had some side stories which I liked. It was not all concentrated on Dal Ja and her worries.
It was good to see again Lee Hye Young as the alluring TV personality Wee Seon Joo. I remember her in "Cheot Sarang" or First Love and Papa. She has the right mix of coolness that enables her to not get hurt. But does this hide a more vulnerable heart?
I enjoyed that the drama talked about various women and their experiences especially in episode 14---"I am Not Superwoman". It is not easy being a woman whether a mom, mother in law, daughter, girlfriend, friend or work colleague. Women have many troubles and strive to overcome the many stigmas and situations that always come their way whether on the job or in their own personal lives. For Dal Ja it is her age and lack of dating experience and having a boyfriend that befuddles her the most. She wants "real love".
When two men come into her life after her disastrous dating experience with colleague and play boy Shin Sae Do (played by Gong Hyeon Jin), she is thrilled. Initially she thinks Eom Ki Joong is her night in shining armour--he is successful, handsome and knows how to treat a woman. But his past comes to haunt Dal Ja just as she is Ki Joong start dating. Her contract boyfriend Tae Bong comes in handy even though he is six younger than her.
Lately, I have noticed alot of "contract" dating or "Boyfriend for hire" as a topic favored by drama writers in the last few years. If it is not a contract, the couple "fake" their relationship until later they both have feelings with each other such as found in "Wedding", "Kim Sam Soon", "Witch Yoo Hee", "Coffee Prince" and even "Dal Ja's Spring". But I do find that element fun. It is nice to see how the couple like each other.
Dal Ja's Spring was great and I LOVE LOVED the soundtrack. It is rare that I do not enjoy the OST for a drama.
Thanks to the awesome fansubs it made the watching of this drama more enjoyable. (I like it when the song lyrics are translated too as it is not the usual case.)
(wiki.d-addicts)
Chae Rim 채림 (All About Eve) as Oh Dal Ja
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基)as Kang Tae Bong
Lee Hyun Woo 이현우 (actor/singer) (Rooftop Cat/Wedding) as Uhm Gi Joong
Lee Hye Young 이혜영 (First Love/Papa) as Wee Seon Joo
Gong Hyeong Jin 공형진 as Shin Sae Do
Extended Cast
Seo Yeong Hee as Jang Soo Jin
Kil Young Woo as Tae Bong's father
Kwon Ki Sun as Yeong Shim (Tae Bong's mother)
Kim Na Woon as Go Soon Ae (Oh Dal Ja's sunbae)
Jang Young Nam as Uhm Gi Joong's wife
Lee Kyung Jin as Jung Ae (Dal Ja's mother)
Kim Young Ok as Dal Ja's grandmother
Kim Sung Kyum as Tae Bong's grandfather
Oh Kyung Soo as the department director
Kim Jae Wook as Choon Ha (Tae Bong's friend)
Seo Yeong as Hong Ji Hee
Main Characters profile:
Chae Rim 채림 as Oh Dal Ja
33-year-old promising home shopping channel managing director. She owns a house and a car thanks to a career driven life. She’s interested in men but is a disaster on real dates. She’s a professional in work but a novice in love. She begins a dreamy love affair with flirtatious coworker Shin Sedo but is enraged to find out about his infidelity. She hires a boyfriend by contract, Taebong, to seek revenge on Sedo.
Lee Min Ki 이민기 (李民基)as Kang Tae Bong
27-year-old freelancer for a proxy dating agency. He begins to pretend as Dalja’s boyfriend. It takes people time to discover his warm heart due to his outspoken character. He develops feelings for Dalja.
Lee Hyun Woo 이현우 as Uhm Gi Joong
36-year-old prospering businessman who heads an importing firm of foreign brand goods. He is polite and humble with reputable character. But he’s very possessive and hates to lose. He asks Dalja to start a relationship with him as he thought she would be comfortable and not have high expectations on love. He is aghast at her elementary dating experience but grows attracted to her more and more.
Lee Hye Young 이혜영 as Wee Seon Joo
33-year-old home shopping network show host. A former hot model, she disappeared from the public eye when she married at 29. She returns three years later as a divorcee. The talented show host, who can be fussy and particular, gets on Dalja’s nerves. She is a dating genius who knows all dating rules there are and what not. Her skills shine in making Shin Sedo as her man.
Synopsis (wikipedia)
Oh Dal Ja is a manager at a home shopping center. She is already 33 years old and is still single. And still waiting for her 'prince' to come. She has everything... money, power and success. The only thing she dreams about is marriage. Then she meets flirty guy, Shin Se Do, who seemed very nice to her. After seeing how he flirts with Wee Seon Joo (and later dumped Dal Ja for her), the beautiful host of the home shopping tv show, she seeks revenge. Kang Tae Bong , a guy 6 years younger than her and has a mysterious past, pretends to be her boyfiend and signs a dating contract with her. But then again, who is this Eom Ki Jeong that seemed to be the perfect gentleman? He's an enterprise representative who's just so perfect.. rich, good-looking, intelligent and courteous but recently separated from his wife.
Three men, one woman.. who will win Oh Dal Ja's charm? Who will end up as her 'knight in shining armor?'
Drama targeted many stereotypes in Korean society. Including older women dating or marrying younger men or single women over 30s dealing with everyday social pressures as well as working mothers juggling their work and family life.
Episode and Episode Titles (wikipedia)
Ep. 1 Things That Drive Her Crazy
Ep. 2 Can Love be Hired?
Ep. 3 A Romantic Inquiry Through a Powerful, Fated Encounter
Ep. 4 There was a Prince, indeed, However..
Ep. 5 Her Stance on Handling an Unsuitable Relationship
Ep. 6 Show Must Go On!
Ep. 7 We Need 2% Moisture In Our Hearts
Ep. 8 Lack of Love's Adverse Effect on an Old Maid
Ep. 9 The Weight Of One Brick...
Ep. 10 Sometimes...Remember That We Are Right Next to You!
Ep. 11 The Rules for Action and Reaction in Dating
Ep. 12 The Reason Why Our Romance Is Beautiful
Ep. 13 Happy Valentine's Day To You!
Ep. 14 It's O.K. Even If You're Not Superwoman!
Ep. 15 Love Saturates My Heart Like A Spring Shower!
Ep. 16 There Needs To Be Loyalty in Love!
Ep. 17 The Earnest Things That Need To Be Thrown Away While In Love Part 1
Ep. 18 The Earnest Things That Need To Be Thrown Away While In Love Part 2
Ep. 19 Living As A Man.. That's The Way It Is
Ep. 20 Living As A Woman.. That's The Way It Is
Ep. 21 People That Are Hopeless With Love
Ep. 22 Spring Comes (Around) Again, Flowers Bloom Again
Source: TNS Media Korea
í== OST == 달자의 봄 OST [2007.01.25]
01. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang - Lee Kyung Hwa
02. Sweet Lover - Park Hye Kyung
03. To You Mine - Pearl's Day
04. Choo Uk Eul Yul Da - So Yun
05. Nae Son Eul Jab Ah Jwuh - K-Jun
06. Na Bbeun Sarang - M.R.J (Kang Jae Hyuk)
07. Shim Jang - Eun Young
08 Impression
09 Ya-Ya-Ya
10. Choo Uk Eul Yul Da (Inst.)
11 Lively Breeze12 Surprise13 To You Mine (Funky Ver.)
14. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang (Orchestra Ver.)
15. Nuh Eh Gi Uk
16. Gi Juk Gat Eun Sarang (Original Ver.)
Staff
Screenwriter: Kang Eun Kyung
P.D.: Lee Jae Sang
Music: Ji Pyung Kwon
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Our Happy Time Together (KR2006) 우리들의 행복한 시간
(Hancinema)
Our Happy Time Together (Aka Maundy Thursday) Woo-ri-deul-eui Haeng-bok-han Si-gan (2006) 우리들의 행복한 시간 was a top hit #7th overall in South Korea in 2006. I rented this movie not knowing anything about the plot except that the title was "Our Happy Time Together". At a glance, I was thinking "oh this will be a light hearted romance". Boy was a totally wrong!
The first few scenes, I saw quite the opposite! It tells the story of Yu Jeong, an University Art Lecturer who is from a privileged back ground and only teaches for fun. But she has tried to commit suicide but has failed a few times. She dislikes her mom and has a hard time being around her family. She decides to talk to her aunt Monica who happens to be a nun. She follows her to the prison that aunt Monica volunteers her time. There she meets a convicted killer on death row Yun Soo. Yun Soo had wanted to meet her due to his little brother always saying Yu Jeong had a voice of an angel. He too has given up on life and just wants to end his.
Slowly through their time together, these two people are drawn together to spend time to heal and learn from each other. Unfortunately, Yun Soo's path is definite but Yu Jeong and he learn alot about on another and gain a deeper understanding.
I give props for Kang Dong Won in this role being a murder. I am used to seeing him as the handsome male lead. With his bad haircut and "acting up" in the prison he does a credible job but he still has a baby face. Lee Na Young as Yu Jeong plays her job credibly telling you she is just not another pretty model trying to act.
CAST
Kang Dong-won (강동원) Yun Soo
Lee Na-young (이나영) Yu-jeong
Yoon Yeo-jeong (윤여정)
Kang Shin-il (강신일)
Jeong Yeong-sook (정영숙)
Fun Movie (KR 2002) 재밌는 영화
(asiandb.com photo credit)
My thoughts on this 2002 Korean Movie called Fun Movie or Funny Movie 재밌는 영화 is the first Korean Parody movie. It is obvious it is a parody. I liked it but I admit I am not a novice to Korean flicks but nor am I an expert. I did not get all the "inside" jokes to get the full humor. Overall the movie does seem very messy if you do not get how it jumps around here and there. In fact, the reviewer below is correct in saying avoid this film if you have no Korean cinema knowledge.
Cast: (ILOVEHKFILM.COM)
Kim Jung-eun, Im Won-hee, Kim Soo-ro, Suh Tae-hwa, Park Kyung-lim, Lee Won-jong, Lee Mi-yeon (cameo)
Fun Movie is entertaining crap - if you've seen the films it mocks. Some of the parodies are brilliant, but the plot endlessly drags trying to pull one gag out of the bag every five minutes. The leading trio is terrific, though Suh Tae-hwa certainly isn't.
Reviewby LunaSea (ILOVEHKFILM.COM):
It was inevitable that someone would come up with a film like Fun Movie. Korean Cinema has become famous enough to be on the receiving end of a parody, and this is the country's first attempt to tackle the genre. If your knowledge of Korean Cinema (and culture) is good enough to get 3/4 of the jokes, you'll often be amused. Otherwise, it's likely Fun Movie will seem like a huge mess, and not a very interesting one, to boot.
The film drags even from the first portion. It doesn't have enough panache to sustain a pace of its own. It always needs to go back to the parody, otherwise it'd bore you to tears. Talking about a plot here would be silly. It takes the main theme of Shiri (this time it's Japanese extremists instead of North Korean ones), and intertwines parodies from just about every successful Korean film of the last ten years. Some are done in a subtle way, some rather obviously. The most successful parodies are those from Nowhere To Hide (the forty steps murder, only they use tempura and sauce to kill!), My Sassy Girl (Kim Jung-eun is brilliant as The Girl), and Green Fish (the phone call home and the final car scene are recreated to hilarious perfection).
The most disgusting parody is the one merging the baseball bat scene from Lies with Ahn Sung-ki's "unusual" investigative methods in Two Cops (Don't watch this while eating - I'm warning you). While the three main leads are tremendous in their timing, delivery and body language, Suh Tae-hwa is a disappointment. His acting is bland and stiff, and he seems out of place. He's been consistently mediocre in one too many films (with the notable exception of Friend, where his blandness was perfect for his character).
At almost two hours, Fun Movie is overlong, and it drags way too much to be as enjoyable as it could have been. It has no lasting effect as a whole, but some memorable scenes will remain in your mind. If anything, the film highlights the industry's current wave of success and creativity, and could be a fun test of your knowledge of recent Korean Cinema. However, if all you've seen is Musa: The Warrior and Shiri, I'd stay away. Fun Movie is not the right film for you if you're just starting to explore Korean Cinema. (LunaSea 2002)
Name that Movie:
This list shouldn't be considered a spoiler, since you still have to find the actual scenes. The following is a list of parodies I've found in the film. Some of them last just a few seconds, so blink and you'll miss them. The movie advertises 28 parodies, so - if they're telling the truth - this list is almost complete.
1993 Sopyonje (D: Im Kwon-taek) Two Cops (D: Kang Woo-suk)
1997 Contact (D: Jang Yoon-hyun) Green Fish (D: Lee Chang-dong) No. 3 (D: Song Neun-han) Beat (D: Kim Sung-soo)
1998 Christmas in August (D: Hur Jin-ho) A Promise (Kim Yoo-jin) Whispering Corridors (D: Park Ki-hyung) Dachimawa Lee (D: Ryu Seung-wan)
1999 Shiri (D: Kang Jae-gyu)Nowhere to Hide (D: Lee Myung-sae) Attack the Gas Station (D: Kim Sang-jin)The Spy, Lee Chul-Jin (D: Jang Jin) Lies (D: Jang Sun-woo)
2000 Joint Security Area (D: Park Chan-wook)The Foul King (D: Kim Ji-woon) Bichunmoo (D: Kim Young-jun) Ditto (D: Kim Jong-kwon)The Scissors/A Nightmare (D: Ahn Byung-ki)The Isle (D: Kim Ki-duk)Peppermint Candy (D: Lee Chang-dong)
2001 Friend (D: Kwak Kyung-taek)My Sassy Girl (D: Kwak Jae-yong)Kick the Moon (D: Kim Sang-jin)Bungee Jumping of their Own (D: Kim Dae-sung)
Note: There's also a poster of The Last Present (a 2001 film with Lee Jung-jae and Lee Young-ae) in one of the scenes, but I doubt that counts as a parody.
Leave Me Alone (HK 2004) Charlene Choi,Ekin Cheng
Gay fashion designer Yiu Chun Man (Ekin Cheng) is visited in Hong Kong by his straight twin brother, Yiu Chun Kit (also Ekin Cheng). Kit borrows his brother’s driver’s license, and is then involved in a car crash in which a woman dies (see also Ab-normal Beauty), and Kit falls into a coma.
With no ID card, Man is unable to prove his identity, so he assumes the identity of his brother, and takes up with Kit’s girlfriend, Jane, (Charlene Choi), and goes with her to Thailand. Jane, however, is has some money problems, and is deeply indebted to a loan shark (Chi Wah Wong), who pursues Man and Jane.
Kit comes out of his coma and finds himself struggling to fend off the amorous advances of Man's boyfriend (Jan Lamb), who is a high-ranking Hong Kong police officer.
With no ID card, Man is unable to prove his identity, so he assumes the identity of his brother, and takes up with Kit’s girlfriend, Jane, (Charlene Choi), and goes with her to Thailand. Jane, however, is has some money problems, and is deeply indebted to a loan shark (Chi Wah Wong), who pursues Man and Jane.
Kit comes out of his coma and finds himself struggling to fend off the amorous advances of Man's boyfriend (Jan Lamb), who is a high-ranking Hong Kong police officer.
THOUGHTS:
This is movie where Ekin Cheng (know from the Young and Dangerous series) plays a dual role as twins in this flick. Charlene Choi of "TWINS" fame is Kit's girlfriend. Both do a great job. Ekin Cheng has done alot of movies but he is charming playing the twin brothers leaving the nuances of being both gay and straight very well. I found it entertaining even. It was weird seeing Charlene Choi having to act all "tough" as Jane with her cute baby face. She admitted in the "making the film" portions it was her first action flick.
The signature shooting and walking moves (a la "John Woo") and other HK movie directors is in this film. I liked the cameo by Kenny Bee as Charlene Choi's dad. It was funny especially in his first scene with the ridiculous hair!
Good fluffy action movie that has its charms but will never win any movie awards.
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