PrettyCarEye

I just finished up CYHMH not too long ago. I'm still considering how to rate it, but I can say for sure it's likely to land in the lower quartile of my rating system which starts at 6 and ascends thereafter. I'm not sure I'd describe it as my cup of tea, but I didn't necessarily hate it either.

I'll resume Golden Empire tomorrow after a short break!
What are you watching?

Sorry to hear there wasn't a larger turnout. Three is a nice, intimate number, though! That way everyone gets equal opportunity to rave (or rant) about their favs & not so favs! :-)

I have never tried Korean food that I didn't make myself, and trust me what I made was not edible! lol So I guess the answer to your question is NO, I have not tried Korean food! haha I found a restaurant here in this town that serves a fusion of Korean & Japanese cuisine, but I didn't recognize any of the dishes on the menu. I've been trying to convince Ahjussi to let us go & try it out but he's hella resistant. Napun sækia...I'll just go on my own then! lol

I do have a fb account, but I use it so seldom. I'd be the most boring friend you have on there! lol

On the link that I sent you click where it says 'Torrent file'. A new window will open & you will see 'cache opening' or something to that effect then the save to your computer window will open. If you don't change the location of where you want the file to be saved it will be automatically saved to your downloads folder. It's also wise to change the name of the file so you can identify it on your computer. It's original name is usually a bunch of numbers.

Ha Ji-won ... too late, chingu. She's already dead like a duck in my book.

As for Sweet Room I happen to be browsing my list today and realized that I actually did rate it a 6 like you. It was the Korean equivalent, 5 Senses of Eros, that I gave a 7. Did you watch that one? What (else) are you watching now?

Finished up CYHMH not too long ago. Thinking about what rating to give it. I'll rest for tonight then start back up with Golden Empire tomorrow.

In case you're not aware, there are a number of options to watch shows from other countries in the region, namely Japan & Taiwan. For streaming, Gooddrama.net is probably the most popular, then there's drama.net. For download, d-addicts & asiatorrents are the go to sites for most. Most of the time you have to be invited to join asiatorrents, but last time I checked they were open for new registrations so you might want to check them out if you're not already a member.

I finished CYHMH about an hour ago. Still thinking about how to rate it, but I can say for sure that it won't be in the upper quartile (8 & above) of my rating system. I enjoyed the drama in spurts & that will influence its rating.

How's I Summon You, Gold for you? I wondered about trying it, but many people seem to think it's a bit annoying. Is it that way for you? Oh dear, I have When A Man Loves on my PTW list. The only reason for its presence is Song Seung-hun. The drama has been universally panned by viewers & critics alike, and from the clips I've seen it's with good reason. But I'm tempted to give a go just to see how bad it is for myself. And of course to ogle SSH. Ha! :)

After a short break, Golden Empire is my next drama to watch. I've already seen the 1st ep. Only thing I can say about it is that Go Soo gave a formidable introduction to his character. Intense & riveting are the 2 adjectives that comes to mind the most. Quite curious now to see how it all plays out. Have heard nothing but great things about it.

Heirs ... lol, no. So not my kind of drama ... that is, however, if I don't manage to watch City Hunter before it airs. You see, I've yet to see a drama with the ever popular mr. Lee Min-ho so I'm eager to find out what all the fuss is about. What about you? Will you watch?

Actually it's 33 since I dropped 1. And trust me, compared to some other users of this site 34 dramas in under a year is a paltry sum. There are people who complete 100 dramas or more in a year. Don't ask me how they do it & still maintain a life! I managed to complete 34 dramas by engaging in all manner of careless behaviour: slacking off work, ignoring my ahjussi & my friends, neglecting housework & the list goes on. lol

Favs ... well, Lovers is my #1. Then there's Orange Days, Pride, Buzzer Beat, Cruel City, Que Sera Sera ... all of which I highly recommend. Of your 8 what are your favs? And what genres do you prefer?

Padam Padam is indeed a gem. I'd have definitely given it a 10 had the ending been less heartbreaking. As for IRIS, I guess I'll watch it at some point, but I'm not in any rush. I know that bastard LBH has a penchant for playing tragic heroes. That's probably the only thing I hate about the guy. And why are you mad that he married Lee Min-jung? lol Did you want to marry her ... or HIM, yourself? I must admit that when I heard he was getting married I felt a twinge of sadness, but of course I wish them happiness. he he he

Re Ditto, I rated it a 4 bcuz I simply didnt enjoy the movie. It presented an interesting concept, but failed to execute it properly, imo. Too much was left underdeveloped so I didn't feel connected to the characters when this was a character driven drama. Lastly while I love Yoo Ji-tæ, I can't stand Kim Ha-neul. I've never liked her in anything I've seen her in. But go ahead & watch it for yourself because there might be differences in our evaluation of quality, esp since I don't know your tastes.

Can you recommend me any great movies? Nothing is set in stone, but have a look at my profile to get an idea of what I like. Cheers! :)

Hehe, I'm not surprised about the power cuts since they're a regular occurrence in Jamaica too. But yeah, I hope with time (in the not so distant future) things will change for film in Jamaica. I'm doing what little I can do from where I am. I've teamed up with local creatives & we're doing up a report which outlines the benefits of a thriving local film community. We plan to submit this to the Minister of Culture, Lisa Hanna. She's a well traveled, educated woman with a love for the visual & performing arts. And she's young, under 40 - not that I'm saying people over 40 are old, I'm just saying in comparison to her political colleagues who are all 60 & above and VEEERY resistant to change. We'll see how it goes from there.

I just completed CYHMH. I'm thinking about how to rate it. Will continue with Golden Empire after a little break. How far along are you? Still enjoying it?

I have a girl crush on this woman.
One classy ahjumma. I love her elegance & sophistication (though I can totally see her being typecasted as the chæbol mother/mother in law in every drama). Damn, I love how she walks, talks & looks! Haha, told you ... totally crushing! She was GREAT in Can You Hear My Heart! :)
Too bad nothing else in her filmography looks interesting to me.

Thx. I will. :-)

#smdh

Sweet Sex & Love can be pretty hard to find on streaming sites. You might be able to find it on dailymotion but I heard the movie is only half subbed & that the subs are pretty dreadful. If you want to download it let me know & I'll send you a link.

I saw Changing Partners recently too. I watch a lot of movies in this genre & they're always the same story about cheating husbands, only the setting tends to be different. I liked this movie more than others I've seen, but it's not a particularly groundbreaking picture. I just liked how it was filmed & the acting wasn't too bad. Romantic drama is a favourite genre of mine, but it's difficult finding Asian movies & dramas that utilize the genre in a way that I like. The only movie that came close was Always, and even that lacked something for me though I enjoyed it.

I'll be 31 in 3 mths. Not looking forward to it. How old are you?

That would be Lovers, a great mixture of romance, business & crime. Orange Days is a close second. That's more slice of life with a nice romance.
How did you discover the Asian drama world?
I have both Missing You & City Hunter on my list to watch. I'm planning to watch City Hunter soon just to find out why everyone is so crazy about Lee Min-ho. he he he
If you tell me a bit more about your preferences (genre, sub-genres, themes you like to watch etc) I might be able to give you some recs.

Thx for the request.
What's currently rocking your world in dramaland?
What about favourite genres?
I'm about to finish up Can You Hear My Heart and will start Golden Empire next.

I think I've mentioned it before.
Their dramas start off good, but tend to drag too much in the middle and end. Also to me their female leads can be quite annoying. I liked The Greatest Love too, but only for Cha Seung-won & his hilarious rendition of Dok Go-jin.

My pleasure. That's what we're here for. To share and spread the love! :-)

I notice on feeds that you plan to watch a lot of stuff, but isn't actually watching anything. There isn't anything at all, movie wise even, that catches your interest?

I agree that Chilling Romance is a bit creepy in parts, but if the biggest wuss on the planet (that would be me :) can watch it alone in the dark & then sleep peacefully afterward ... so can you probably. No joke. But it does presents a good excuse to dull one's senses with drink, though, doesn't it? he he he

See in The Bahamas, a collective of tiny islands, what you say makes sense, but Jamaica is bigger and has wider brand recognition even if Bahamas has the better reputation. The few films Jamaica has produced have all exported well. We're therefore in a position to be one of the major players in developing a robust Caribbean film industry, IF we had sensible, visionary people in parliament.

Trust me, if we develop a thriving film sector on the island the winback on whatever tax rebate given would be 10 fold in the form of employment, not just for film workers but also set & location building/rentals, services rental, insurance, lots of 'extra' work (that is work as an extra or background performer in films) for a large number of unemployed youth, increased fdi from foreign film productions etc. Jamaica lost out on a whopping US$85 million when the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean passed on the island because they couldn't get ANY form of tax exemption to use their own equipment.

Now you tell a big ass Hollywood studio that they have to use the sub-par equipment available on the island or pay massive import duties to bring in their own high tech gadgets ... and what do you expect? It's ludicrous!

Okay, you're going a little overboard with the paranoia! Ha! I guarantee you a swat team will not come. They have better things to do with their time! :) lol The link is perfectly safe & you can always delete the file after you're done watching. To spare space on my computer I used to prefer watching movies on streaming sites, but the movies are often cut into 6 or more parts and I find the constant stop & go watching very jarring so lately when it comes to movies I download more than I stream. Anyway, it's your call. I hope you'll finish it so we can chat about it. I think it's a good movie for discussion.

I have no problem differentiating between actor & character. I just don't like Ha Ji Won & Kim Ha-neul as performers. I find them annoying and too prone to exaggeration in everything from facial expression to body language & tone of voice. Just about the only role I've seen Ha Ji Won in and I didn't have the urge to murder her was in a movie called Closer to Heaven.

I saw you gave Sweet Room a 6, one point below my rating. What does a 6 signify for you? You can see my rating system on my profile.

Hi, saw your forum greeting and decided to respond here since I think it's more personal.

Anyway, Annyeong haseyo! :) Welcome to MDL, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun here.

I'm fairly new to dramaland myself. Oct 18 will be a year since I got involved in all the drama! lol. 34 series later and I've had a few ups and downs, but generally I love it. Like you, though, my love affair with Asian entertainment, and in particular Korean entertainment, started with its cinema. I still prefer movies to dramas because they're shorter & generally less cliche ridden. I checked your list on IMDB and it's pretty impressive. We have quite a few movies in common.

Am I to understand that Padam Padam was your first Asian/Korean drama? If so, same here! I loved it, but it really broke my heart. At the time I didn't know that that's how melodramas are supposed to end. I was hoping for a different ending. And it's because of the ending of IRIS why I haven't watched that either because I LOVE Lee Byung-hun! I'll watch the guy read the phone book & pay to do so too. That's how much I loooooove him! :-)

They've wrote many & are generally quite popular.

Some of their dramas include:
Master's Sun
Big
The Greatest Love
My Girlfriend is Gumiho
You're Beautiful
Hong Dong-gil
Couple or Trouble

among others.

I've only seen two of their dramas + the 1 ep from Master's Sun, but it's enough to make me know for sure that I don't like their style.

Wow, interesting job you have!
I'm a member of a film arts lobby in Jamaica, trying to get the government to recognize the incredible potential that lies within film for the country, but the Jamaican government is as always very backward & totally irresponsible in their thinking on most developmental potential the island has. I mean visionary leadership is just completely lost on them.

They have lost so many investments from both big and small productions due to their inertia & overall lackadaisical approach to recognizing & harnessing new growth potential that's outside the normal scope of what they focus on.

And I feel justified in saying this because I am Jamaican as much as I am American. I'm not sitting on some high horse bashing Jamaica. I am just stating facts. Film has a lot of momentum in the Caribbean now. Jamaica should strike while the iron is hot, but as usual they only start to pay attention when the boat has already sailed.

A Jamaican movie with an entirely Jamaican cast & crew was forced to film in Trinidad (using Trinidadian actors with fake Jamaican accents! #smfh) because the Jamaican gov refused to give tax breaks on production costs & equipment, refused to let the crew film for free on publicly owned property, refused to waive the duty on vital equipment that are not available in Jamaica & so has to be imported. They make things incredibly difficult for both local & overseas creatives. I've wanted to film on the island for ages, but I'm disgusted by all the nonsense and red tape. Way too much hassle when things are so much easier elsewhere.

Oh ::dies::...
You met Kimmy? What? When, where, how!? How was he?
I work in film so I get a lot of opportunities to meet a few of my favs from time to time, not that I always take advantage. Once you work in the biz you kind of lose your star struck ways because you realize these 'stars' are actually just like you, only richer.

Anyway, February 2011 (looong before I even knew what 'drama' in reference to Asian TV shows meant :) I went to the Berlinale & was at a mix & mingle with Hyun Bin (who at the time I did not know was THE HYUN BIN) & other cast/crew members of his movie Come Rain Come Shine. He was literally 2, 3 feet away from me at any given time, but I was totally oblivious. Now completely smittened with the guy in every which way, I think about that wasted opportunity all the time. Chances are good that may run into him again in the future so I'm not too crushed, but gosh ... every time I think about it I cringe.

It's nice spending time with family isn't it? I miss my mommy so much! Haven't seen her in about 3 yrs! So yes a looooong Christmas vacation is due.

It sounds like you have an incredibly interesting job that makes you travel to all kinds of exotic locale. If I remember correctly, you're a doctor, aren't you? A head doctor? :) Do you attend conferences & the like on these trips? Forgive my curiosity! I'm just always fascinated by other people's experiences out in this big wide world.

As for having found what I'm looking for in dramaland. Comedy wise, yes. Romance the way I like romance, no. I don't think they make my kind of romance in Asia & esp NOT in Japan. So I've given up.

Don't worry about my tastes. They're not set in stone! ;p
Just recommend whatever you liked on his list & I'll decide whether it's for me or not because like I explained before the way I choose to watch things is often totally random & not necessarily based on my preferences all the time.

I hear what you're saying about characters & actors and I agree to an extend. I agree that there should be a distinction between characters and the actor. I try to do this in most of my reviews, though it's not every time I feel compelled to go into detail about a show.

There's a saying in the film world, a rule of thumb if you will, popularized by the late great Akira Kurosawa: 'a mediocre director can sometimes make a passable film out of a good script, but even an excellent director can never make a good film out of a bad script'. I think this can also be true for actors.

Mediocre actors can get away with murder if the script is good to begin with, but if the script is not well developed from the get-go no matter how good an artist you are behind or in front of the camera it's going to be a waste of talent. Having said that bad actors can ruin an otherwise decent role. I've see it so many times in Western cinema, esp American movies & tv shows. And also a few occasions in Asian cinema too. I'm trying to think of concrete examples where I think this has occurred, but I'm running blank. Too early in the morning before my vitamin boost smoothie! :p