PrettyCarEye

Yes, the ending was quite nice. But the characters never had a proper, real kiss ... even when in circumstances where its the most natural thing for them to do. I mean like the stage is set and ... nothing happens.

SY has gotten rave reviews from everyone I know so I don't mind the length. I watched the 1st ep of both it & TGL & opted to continue with TGL bcuz its 1st ep was better. I will watch SY though, even if Choi Jung Yoon, an actress I really can't stand, has a role in it. We'll see how it goes. Moreover, Lee Byung-hun's GF is the female lead & I want to see what's so gr8 about her, if anything.

I started Darker last night & I think I understand now what you meant when you said you got everything you needed to know about their relationship from B1. I feel nothing new is happening. Ironic to say this but their conflict gets resolved too quickly to keep my interest.

I was loving The Greatest Love up until ep 10, then it started to annoy me so I skipped to the last ep & started watching it backwards. After watching ep 16, I haven't been able to move on to ep 15. It's one of those frustrating dramas where the adult leads act like playground lovers, mooning and crooning at each other, instead of acting like normal, grown adults. It's the reason why I hate dramas by the Hong sisters (among other issues with their characterizations). The show is otherwise quite funny though bcuz Cha Seung Won is such a master at his role. I'm officially a fan of this ahjussi after this.

You know me & my OCD tendencies - I have to finish everything I start otherwise I won't be able to have closure. And since they were on sale I sweet talked BF into buying them for me. He calls them my lady porn books.

I'm thinking of picking up Smile, You or Salaryman again.

Trying to think if Ana has ever annoyed me. Not really. I think her reaction to the whole BDSM thing is natural for someone who isn't exposed to the lifestyle. What gets me the most, tho, is that both Ana & Christian are way too young for this story. I mean how did Christian make all his billions? At age 27?

As for casting, whoever gets the part I hope he's hot & intense. It's interesting to ponder who'll play Ana. I keep thinking of Anna Kendrick, but she might be too sweet looking & I doubt she'll ever consider such a role. Or maybe she would ... since a lot of these starlets are always looking for ways to push the envelope. Yeah, you're right, producers hate NC-17 ratings -- which this film is bound to get with all the sex so I'm guessing they'll tone things down to get a R rating.

I broke down & both the other 2 books since they were on sale. Only time will tell if I read them.

Welcome, CherryBunny. Thx for sending it.

Watching anything good at the mo?

I'm watching a couple of things, but am so busy these days I never have time to finish them!

Why did Ana annoy you?
I'm thinking about reading the 2nd book bcuz I want to find out what happened to Grey when he was a kid. Why doesn't he like to be hugged? Also I want a proper HEA, although I realize that may not come until the 3rd book. I'd love to read from Christian's point of view! Where online did you find this chapter? And is book 2 told from Ana's POV or Christian's?

I read yesterday that Sam Taylor-Johnson is going to direct the movie. Not surprised she's drawn to it since she's like her husband's Mrs. Robinson!

Anyway, seems like the movie's happening. Should be interesting to see who will be cast in the lead roles & just how they go about handling the sex/love scenes.

As for who to play Grey? Tough one. Chris Evans? He's good on the looks & the bod! Yum! I think Shia LeBeouf also has that intensity that defines the character. We'll see.

So if I'm to use MDL's rating scale Shades' somewhere between a 5 & 6 for me. I'm used to more visual, sophisticated writing (if/when you read Ice Queen you'll see what I mean - the author is an amazing wordsmith!). While James tried to convince me that Grey is this compelling, enigmatic character I didn't really feel nor see it. Maybe because the novel is written in 1st person, which is not my fav. He should've had me enthralled bcuz I like tortured, alpha male heroes but I just didn't get that intense vibe from him. I'm pretty sure its due to the author's very basic, somewhat juvenile writing. Again when you read Ice Queen you'll see a difference. Joey W. Hill told you & showed you so that you're totally convinced Tyler is a force to be reckoned with. Anyway, the story wasn't bad & I did like Ana & Grey. Maybe I'll read the rest of series. Why did you drop the second book?

I have no idea. I haven't watched the movie myself. Still debating whether I should. There are always exceptions but I generally don't watch gay-themed entertainment. Again, not a particularly moralistic choice, but it's like with the BDSM - something I might watch for variety, but not really an entertainment world I want to inhabit for any length of time. So we'll see ...

I'll pm you a rec of a BDSM novel I really enjoyed, along with my review of it. That should give you enough information to decide whether you want to read it.

Yeah, Wanee & Junah was good for exactly that reason. I wish they had more physical interaction. Not necessarily sex, but more affection. Not complaining, tho, as what we got was still pretty nice. I want more of these kinds of movies from Korea. You should watch My P.S. Partner, so refreshing in its maturity ... (although the ending was just okay for me).

I liked this, except for Tæ Bum & his godawful wife.

I'm more than half way through and once Ana jumps into the BDSM community (which she's about to do), I suspect things are going to get a lot more kinky.

I've read and enjoyed a couple of BDSM stories when I was going through my romance novel phase, but it's generally one of those 'once in a blue moon' genres that I add to my reading for variety, rather than any profound interest in the genre or the lifestyle. It's not due to anything moralistic, just a world I don't want to live in full time.

Have you read anything BDSM related before?

Hope you like Wanee & Junah. Interesting fact: the male lead is also the male lead in the (in)famous A Frozen Flower? First Jo In Sung, now him. Sigh ...

Yeah, I am, for the most part. Grey is intriguing. Like the heroine, you want to get under his skin & find out what's his deal. He comes across as some sort of wounded soul despite his dominant proclivities. Guess I'm gonna have to read on to find out. I'm at the point where Ana has agreed to 'play' & they're hammering out the final details. I must say what the book is most good at is building up your anticipation of what is to come. We're just as intrigued, thrilled and terrified as Ana for what Grey has in store for her. I guess in that sense the mommy porn works.

Oh, and for some reason the love scenes so far ... esp the one in the tub where Ana ... how shall I put this delicately ... services Grey ... reminded me VERY much of Sada & Ishida. Mad visuals.

Well, that's obvious.
I just like a good balance of fantasy and reality to my entertainment. It's the only way I can enjoy whatever it is I'm viewing.

Yeah, I don't believe in that either.

First impression: the characters are too young, esp for this type of intense relationship. Big secret which might be a shocker, I'm a (romantic) cynic. I have no faith in relationships ... in particular those carried out by people in their teens & 20s. So I'm having a difficult time suspending belief. I don't believe they'll last even if the author tells me that they ride off into the sunset, happily ever after. Did you read the entire trilogy?

Love triangles abound ... gah!

Reading Grey. Interesting. Reminds me of Realms. Sort of.

Generally speaking, I tend to hate second leads & wish they'd just die.

Well, I got to ep 10 in The Greatest Love & got frustrated with all the misunderstandings between Æ Jung and Go Jin. I really hate it when shows depend too heavily on misunderstandings (which can be easily cleared up if the characters would just TALK to each other) as a plot device. Anyway, I'll keep watching because I want to see how it ends.

Dunno yet what I'll watch next. Maybe Smile, You. Or Salaryman.

What about you?

Well, I'm at the film festival now (it lasts a week, from Tuesday - Sunday) and while I'm definitely busy with screenings, film talk (Q & A with the filmmakers), and network it's not half as exhausting as last week at NorShipping.

I'm disappointed with a lot of the films I've seen so far, but still film festivals are great fun so you should definitely give it a go, if you can. I'd recommend Raindance just because it's a fairly big fest with a wide variety of films from all over the world. You'll definitely be able to discover some great Asian films there. Smaller festival will probably have less variety. There's also the Korean Cultural Centre in London. They put on the Korean Film Festival every year in November if memory serves.

If you're a film lover, you have lots of opportunity in London. I wished I still lived there!

Hi Edinaa, The Greatest Love is great!
It was difficult to choose between it and Smile, You so I watched the first ep of both and decided to stick with the one that engaged me the most. The Greatest Love had from the opening scene! The male lead is hilarious! The female lead is cute and very likable and Dok Go Jin is just too much. Haha.

Really enjoying it. Hope the next 10 episodes will be as good as the first 6! :-)