PrettyCarEye

My dearest Sumi, I always feel so bad toward you! I owe you an apology and a response to that pm from long ago. I did write one, but the damn thing got lost when my computer blue screened! So frustrating ...

Anyway, one day you'll open your inbox and see a message from me. When that will be I can not say because I'm always so busy & there's just not enough hrs in a day to work, watch dramas, have a life outside of drama and respond to everyone. You know what I mean? I'm sure you do since you're a professional too and in the same boat! :)

As for Dokushin Kizoku thx for the rec, chingu! :) It's been getting a lot of good buzz and I'm keeping an eye on it. It all depends on how well the show develops. If it doesn't tank by the end I'll definitely give it a go, esp since I like the male lead.

And I love your description of it, coup de coeur! Oui, c'est tres bon dans anglais aussi! :D

I've missed chatting with you, mon amie! :)

#smh How can you be bored when you're watching so many things at one time! :p

Well if you're looking for heartbreaking endings they're certainly the rule in dramaland rather than the exception, Noona. I personally stay away from them where I can. I prefer happy endings or at most bittersweet endings. There's enough tragedy in real life.

THERE are good romantic dramas out there, but in this genre the good, adult ones are the exception and cheesy, adolescent ones are the rule so you have to really dig them out. Watch the ones I recommended you, they're some of the better ones.

Maybe one day I'll give INR a chance. The latest installment is a noona/dongsæng romance so that should be right up your alley. If there's any reason for me to watch part III it would be because of Sung Joon, but I probably won't watch it. Interestingly I've never seen a full drama with him, but I saw 10 mins of Can We Get Married and I just liked the kid.

Yeah, I can see that (that you watch dramas more for the fun of it). A lot of your drama choices are dramas I personally can't watch because they're just too cheesy/silly for me (this is not a criticism of your preference, just speaking about my own preferences). I do like rom-coms, esp those that veer towards drama (NOT melodrama) ... AGD, City Hall ... the like. I tend to avoid school/young adult dramas since they're often the kind of shows in which just a mere touch of the hand is a huge deal. I'm too old now for that kind of stuff! When it comes to movies, it seems like we have the same taste in that there's no preference for genre. I'm still relatively new to Asian cinema so I'm always looking out for good recs. If you have any favourites you'd like to share, pls do! :)

Noona, how is it going?
Just came across your review of My Princess. Very insightful. I think I might remove that one from my list. I only put it on there for the sake of Song Seung-hun.

I checked out some of your other reviews and noticed that you've been watching only the cheesiest of drama romances. Now unless fluff and cheesiness is what you're specifically looking for be careful that these shows don't push you into a slump or burnout. They have this effect since they can be the height of silliness and aggravation.

When I first entered dramaland I fell victim to them and almost gave up the genre (even drama altogether)! lol

I see you recently completed I Need Romance. I've heard a lot about this series. Seems to fit my bill for a mature romance, but gosh I hate the Sex & the City comparisons. What did you think of it?

Sleepy, did you finish Down with Love? How did you like it?
As you saw on the feeds I finished it & I liked it. I grew to like Ella's character a lot & Jerry Yan's Yu Ping was so likeable & hot! And I'm usually not attracted to skinny, metrosexual Chinese guys with prettier hair than me! haha. But oh man, I love the way he talks in that soft, seductive voice. Wow! :)

I don't watch Dexter. I have a lot of friends who are addicted to it. I've been wondering if I should watch it but I don't think I will. I'm not a particular fan of the guy who plays Dexter. In fact the only Western shows I've been following are Game of Thrones and Spartacus (when it was airing on Starz).

As for uri LSJ, I'll be happy if he simply doesn't die or contract some horrible disease! I gotta tell ya, I'm really skeptical about the writer of this show. I'm getting a very bad vibe that it's going to be 50 eps of makjang & melodrama! :/

I don't know if I want to put myself thru that even for my lovely mr. dimples!

I can totally understand why people get burned out on Asian romance. Most of them are not very well made and are simply too childish, cheesy and or insulting to the intelligence of any thinking person. I came very close to abandoning the entire genre until I stumbled across Lovers which restored my faith that romance - while still maintaining certain cultural irritants - could be done fairly well in dramaland. You just have to be diligent in finding the good ones. Now I realize that Lovers isn't a lot of people's cup of tea, but it was really the first drama I came across where the romance felt natural & real.

I prefer to have a bit of non-tragic romance in everything that I watch. Where I'm concerned it gets me more invested in the story. Doesn't have to be the central theme, but it should be like a pulse that keeps the story alive ... if that makes any sense. Usually once I become bored with everything else, the romance will make me continue to watch the show.

You know just because an actor is prolific ... doesn't mean they're a good performer. I think this is particularly true in Korean cinema and directly related to some female actresses. Their longevity isn't necessarily due to talent, but luck, having the right connections, wealth etc ...

Once an actor becomes prolific it's easier for them to work with good actors who in turn make them look somewhat decent. I think this is very true for a lot of mediocre Asian actresses and actors. To me this woman, HJW and Kim Ha Neul fall very easily into this category. I know you disagree ... at least where HJW is concerned, but that's just the plain truth of it, imo! :)

I see you've watched up to ep 6 of GE and given it a preliminary rating of 8. Not sure how to interpret that, but I guess you're liking it?

It's interesting that you took an instant dislike to Tæ-joo. I have my own opinion about him, but I won't say anything just yet. I'll wait until you complete the show, if you do. The guy sure is a thought-provoking case study, that's for sure ...

I'm busy with work. I have several movies that are set to go into production next summer and there's a LOOOOT of paper work to do in preparation for them. I'm also planning a film festival that I hope will launch in May of 2015. So just a lot of paper work and coordinating.

I've seen Reply 1997 and it's not a bad show. I understand the temptation to sacrifice school for drama! lol That's why I'm glad I didn't discover drama while I was in college. I just know I would have been a bad student ... probably more than I already was. In the long run though you'll have to live with the consequences of your actions so try to stay focused on your studies until finals are over. Then watch all the drama you want.

By the way, I love your policing of the review boards. It's so annoying when people post reviews for shows they haven't even watched or have only watched a couple of episodes. I mean how can they give a true opinion of a show they haven't fully seen??? #smh

Keep up the good work! :)

Outsider, thx for recommending the songs! I quite like the second one, Walking in the Rain, but I wasn't feeling the beat of the first one, You look Good. Who are these singers? Are they idols belonging to some popular group or solo artists?

There's this rapper that seems to be quite well-known among western fans of Korean pop culture, but I can't remember his full stage name. It's Tiger something ... I hear he's pretty good. Do you know who I'm talking about? Ever heard anything by him?

Hehehe hvordan klarer du deg på en fest med 30 vietnamesere når du ikke kan språket? Er det ikke slitsomt? Eller føler du deg inkludert?

Jeg skjonner egentlig at du holder deg hjemme med familien på nyttårsaften. Det er egentlig ikke noe spennende (eller lønnsomt) som skjer i Norge generelt. Først og fremst er det alt for dyrt å feire ute i Norge. For det andre, er tilbudene lite til og med her i hovedstaden. Det er ikke som i andre land der det ihvertfall er billig å spise og drikke ute så da har du mer motivasjon til å gå ut. Her i Norge kan du lett blåser bort 2000-3000 spenn i en kveld hvis du ikke er forsiktig. Husker sist gang jeg var i NY jeg feiret nyttår på manhattan sammen med noen venner. Tror vi brukte rundt 120 dollar hver, inkl. drosjen hjemme (vi bor i Brooklyn) og dette var fordi vi feiret på et av de finere hotellene på rooftop baren.

Hvordan går det med series der den mannlige skuespiller er 23 år eldre enn motspillern?

Yup, I'm talking about The Voice. Coffee Prince is the only drama I've seen him in, but I've watched several of his movies. That's fine with me since I don't know if I want to spend several hrs with him in a drama. While I always tend to root for male leads, the ones I like the best are the ones I can actually respect. I don't really respect a lot of the characters he plays. Jerks & cheats, all of 'em! :p

Coffee Prince is a classic, but it's pure romance so not your cup of tea. I seem to have only anti-romance friends on MDL! lol Story of my life ... always alone in my preferences.

Ok, so you're saying that I'll better enjoy/understand Gye Bæk if I've watched Queen Seon Duk? A pity. I had plans to watch that series at one point, but not anymore after seeing the female lead in Golden Empire. This woman's face is as interesting as a stone wall. She just doesn't express emotions well! It was rather painful to watch her in GE, even though her character required a level of stoicism. Nevertheless, I've seen other actors do 'stoic' much more interestingly. That constant deadpan expression in every scenario, even when she's supposed to be happy, made it difficult for me to warm her.

It's not really the length of his new drama that worries me. Because of love, I'd watch him in a 1000 ep drama ... but the genre has to suit my taste. I understand this writer is notorious for makjang & melodrama. Terminal illness, high emotions all over the place, abounding tragedy. Pfft ... so not my kinda thing. Moreover, I hear the female lead can be pretty darn annoying in the way she acts alongside a super high pitched, nasal voice. That alone spells disaster. But we'll see. I'll watch the first few eps before making up my mind. Do you have any idea when it'll start to air?

Hey, I thought we were going to watch it together! :p

Skulle ønske jeg kunne reise Stateside til jul men har verken tid eller råd. Må jobbe. Altså, ikke ute, men hjemme ... med alle de prosjektene jeg har på gang. Forhåpentligvis blir det tur neste år, i påsken eller sånt noe.

Har aldri vært i Kristiansand. Nærmest jeg kom var Grimstad. Jeg har hørt at det er litt kjedelig der, særlig for unge mennesker...
Men nyttår må det skjer noe gøy vel?

Virker som du liker lange kinesiske serier. Ser du på Love is the Best? Den har jeg lyst til å se.

I'm also watching Hear Me. In fact I've been watching it for the past several days! It's not due to the movie being bad or anything like that, but these days I seem to have the attention span of a fly. If a movie doesn't grab my attention within the first 10 mins I put it on hold. I don't know where this habit came from. Normally I'm able to sit thru a movie even if it's not so good, but these days I don't have the patience.

I can't think of anything I'd like to recommend you at the moment. I've forgotten what genres you like. Remind me & I'll think of something.

As for dramas I haven't watched one since Down with Love which I finished about 2-3 weeks ago. Right now I'm taking a little hiatus from dramas, but when I come back I plan to watch Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta. Have you seen it? If you have, is it any good?

Nope, not Gong Yoo. I'm talking about this guy:
http://mydramalist.com/actor/441/lee-sun-gyun

I'm sure Gong Yoo could play sleazy, but he's never struck me as sleazy in any of the roles I've seen him in. I quite like Yoo. He's one of those emo actors who can really get you to pay attention to his performance. Loved him in The Crucible.

Lee Sun Gyun isn't a bad actor, but he's very typecast. He seems to always play these less than scrupulous guys who are always trying to get into some woman's pants. His characters always make me cringe in some way or another.

I still need to see my love in all his other works. I've heard he does a good spin in Yi San. I'll eventually watch everything (or almost everything) he's in, but boy the length of these sæguks are killing me. I'm far too busy to dedicate the time ... at least for now.

Game of Thrones takes time to get good. Establishing the story, the characters and the world they live in took almost the entire 1st season. The constant dialogue & lack of action bored me, but I'm glad I stuck it out because the last 2 eps were epic. The 2nd season was much better. Much more fast paced and engaging. I still need to watch the 3rd & 4th seasons ...

As for Spartacus, this is a series that's well worth the watch. The show started of with a bang and had me hooked from start to finish. I haven't yet seen the 3rd and final season, but as far as I'm concerned season 1 was the best of all. This show is very well written and well cast. The actors are amazing. Imagine a prison drama like Prison Break set in medieval times ... and you have Spartacus, only it's more violent & sexually explicit. The same spine tingling, on the edge of your seat sensation is there though & you're bound to marathon this series.

Give both a second chance. You just might like them. On the other hand I do know that you and I have differing tastes so I can't say for sure if they'll be your cuppa tea. For me they're the only Western shows I'm interested in watching.

I haven't watched anything since Down with Love. Too busy, too lazy to invest my time & energy into new characters. That said, I do plan on starting Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta soon.

Edinaa, my apologies for the late reply! Have been a bit busy lately. Long time no chat! What you been up? All is well in your neck of the woods? I'm busy, stressed out and running around like a headless chicken due my job ... what else is new! :) But I guess I'll live. I have to.

I completed Down with Love a few weeks ago but haven't started any new dramas since. But I do plan to watch Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta sometime soon. What are you watching now that's really good?

Yes, I got married to mr. Lee in my dreams. You don't like? ;p
Hmm ... so you're engaged? How nice! For some reason I thought you were very young. Like 18 or something?
I'm not watching any dramas at the moment. I completed Down with Love a few weeks ago & have been taking a break ever since because I'm quite busy with work. I also like to put some space between each new drama I watch so I don't suffer from a burnout. I plan to watch Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta next.

No, you're not weird. Although I do like happily ever after endings they're not appropriate in every scenario. I don't like tragic or sad endings, but I do like poignant endings. A tinge of sadness ... but with hope. For eg, the ending of the movie 3-iron. Just marvelous! (To me). Have you seen it?
If you have any suggestion of movies where the woman cheats please let me know what they are.