PrettyCarEye

Sorry for the late reply!

I'll definitely give this show a shot. I want to meet Kim Nam Gil to see if I'll like him as much as everyone else.

Are you watching anything interesting right now? I've been soooo busy this past few weeks that I haven't watched any dramas or movies at all.

Hehe, I always drink too much! LOL, no, just kidding! This was entirely work related so it wouldn't reflect well on BF if I end up drunk! Besides I can no longer tolerate alcohol like I used to. I only drink enough to give me a little buzz. That way I know I won't suffer thru a nasty hangover the day after.

So far only made short films. About 6 of them. Some of my films are still showing at festivals so I can't make them public, otherwise I'd get disqualified from a lot of film fests. Working now on my first feature film. It's a lot of work, but fun.

I hope all your exams went well. You must be very smart if you're mixed up in taxation, statistics, macro. Some my worse subjects when I was in college! :-)

3-iron is amazing. I'm glad you liked it. I want to set up a movie challenge for myself too, if only I had the time ...!!!

I haven't watched any movies or dramas in almost 3 weeks!

Wanee & Junah is hard to find. Someone gave me a link to a website that had it, but he got mad at me for not sending him a friend's request & removed the link from my wall. I didn't make a note of it.

This new week is going to be even busier. Off to a film fest in the south of the country on Tuesday. I'm already exhausted...

I've seen some pretty hot kisses in an odd few Japanese dramas, namely Buzzer Beat & Pride. But those seem to be exceptions rather than the rule. Very disappointing. :(

I haven't seen that many Taiwanese dramas, in fact only 2, and both had really great kissing where everyone looked engaged & involved.

I've seen A LOT of hot kisses in Korean cinema, but mostly movies rather than dramas. A lot of k-drama kisses, even when they're really hot, can come across forced. I'm thinking specifically of the nightclub kissing scene in A Gentleman's Dignity. While the male lead was well into the kiss Kim Ha-neul was as stiff as a log even though her mouth was been devoured.

Common to all three is that even when there's a hot kiss, it's usually just 1 major 1 & then the characters go back to their cold fish kissing ways. Grrr ...

I've read the same as you. I've read and heard that the preference for white / fair skin is a legacy of their poverty stricken past. Something similar to the African American house slave / field slave phenomenon. Field slaves just like peasants in Korean society worked outdoors under the boiling sun in harsh conditions that battered their appearance. House servants, who generally had fairer skin, was thought to enjoy a better standard of living. All fascinating, if a bit outdated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy TWTTLI when you get around to watching it!

Rita-chan, my BF dragged me out to be by his side at NorShipping week. Huge exhibition/week long conference for the shipping industry. Days of hopping from one event to the next. Tuesday coming, I'm off to the south for another week long event, but this time in my field. Totally exhausted (I've not been in the best of health lately!), but would rather be busy than bored.

I'll get back to you on this topic bcuz it requires more than just a few minutes of my time. I do want to say that I completely agree with you that Koreans are seemingly more preoccupied with status, money, power & well, all the accoutrements of wealth. A legacy of Confucianism & a recent past of poverty, wanting to hold their heads high amidst regional tensions in which they're always the loser?

Then again Japan too is highly influenced by Confucianism & that same greed is not quite as pronounced in their cinema.

Thx for sharing your movie list with me. There are a couple on there that I want to see. How did you like 3-iron? You gave it a 10 so you must have loved it? I also think you're gonna love A Moment To Remember! If you end up loving Jung Woo-sung as much as I did after watching it you should defo check out Season of Good Rain. The movie isn't out of this world amazing, but it's a simple & sweet story about old flames reconnecting. And OMFG!!! Jung Woo-sung is the finest, looks wise, I've ever seen him in it! :-)

Let me know how you like Oasis! And Finding Mr. Destiny. I started it long ago, but put it on hold since the pacing was a bit slow & I found the female lead quite unattractive and as limp as a leaf. But Gong Yoo is the male lead so sooner or later I'm going to get back to it.

Hey chingu! (ok, so you still don't think this word means pimp, drug lord or whatever it was your urban dictionary told you, do you? :-).

Sorry to be getting back so late. This was such a crazy busy week! There was a huge Shipping industry exhibition called NorShipping going on this week & even though I don't work in shipping my bf - who works offshore - has a lot of clients & partners who do & so I was dragged along with him to all the events & networking parties. It was fun & interesting, but so tiring. We came home at 00:00 every night this week. Then next week, starting Tuesday, I'll be in the south of the country at a film festival promoting my film & networking like crazy again so another long week ahead! Not complaining though because I prefer to be busy than bored!

Hi. Sorry for late reply. Mad week. I wasn't trying to convince you to watch TWTTLI bcuz it has sex. lol Crazy girl! My point was that it's a mature drama that doesn't try to swipe the characters' sexuality under the rug like 99% of dramas do. I mean it doesn't go overboard, but still, in that regard, it's not like most drama I've seen so far. And personally *I* like this bcuz it's just reflecting real life ... which Asian dramas are normally good at EXCEPT when it comes to love making & sexuality. LOL! I know not every couple's doing the nooky, but it's kinda silly when 2 attractive young people who are madly in love just moon & giggle at each other like school children. Anyway, you know how I feel about this so no need to explain further.

I see that you've watched Happy End, how did you like it? That guy she had the affair with is hot, isn't he? He's the same guy in Wanee & Junah.

Song Hye Kyo is beautiful. But again I have to question what standard of beauty SK is setting for its young. I think she has an interesting mix of Eurasian features which sets too much of what constitutes beauty. To put what I mean into context, take Halle Berry for example. Beautiful woman indeed, but in the States its like other equally beautiful black actresses, like Viola Davis, Gabrielle Union etc, don't exist. Not saying this is case in SK, but there's a general tendency worldwide to put women with very pronounced European features, like Song & Berry, on a pedestal. I quite like Song, she's a lovely young woman so this is nothing against her. I just wish more people, not only in Asia, embraced a wider spectre of what constitutes beauty. Anyway, I really liked her & Binnie together, although the character she played in TWTTLI turned out to be not so likable in the end.

Long time no hear, madam. Glad you liked the review. I definitely think The World That They Live In deserves a watch. I do think it is one of the better made Korean series I've seen so far in spite of my gripes with certain aspects of the plot.

I read from a pretty reliable source (both their agencies released a statement) that they actually became a couple some months after the drama wrapped so maybe that's why the chemistry was so hot. They must have been really attracted to each other on set even though they weren't official yet. Based on looks alone they make a very striking couple. I'm sad to know that they've long since broken up.

I hope by some miracle they can find their way back to each other! :-)

LOL, why did my age disclaimer crack you up? I watch a lot of mature movies & I like discussing them with my friends so I have to make sure they're of age! :)

You're welcome! :-)
No, I have Bad Guy on the list to watch. I've been meaning to watch it since another friend also recommended it to me, but I haven't had the time yet. Too busy.

But I want to watch it because I really like Kim Ki-duk movies (even though his earlier films, of which Bad Guy is one, are totally whacked). And I've been hearing about this Kim Nam Gil since forever, but have not seen him in anything. So I want to see what all the fuss's about. What do you think of this movie?

Loss weight?! No, no, he looks better with a meat on him. I've seen the stills from Secret Garden & he looks waaaaay better in TWTTLI. I like the guy. He's nice to look at and he can act. I'll be following his career from now on. I need to watch more of his shows and movies to determine whether he's my type of actor. I think he is, but need further confirmation. I'd say definitely check him out in TWTTLI first ... he looks his best & the mature development of relationship is something I think you'd like. The characters have sex, talk about sex etc. It's great! Nothing hush, hush...

By the way, you can read the spoiler I posted. It is such an insignificant part of a 16 ep drama that it will have no influence on your viewing pleasure. It illustrates why I criticize the female lead so harshly.

You know what, this w/end I didn't watch anything. I've been really busy lately.

I turn to entertainment, movies/shows, for an escape from the harsh realities of life, not to be bombarded by the very realities I want to escape from.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your take on this, Rita-chan. You always write such insightful & reflected reviews. I'd love for you to watch the show & let me know what you think. If all else fails I swear to you Binnie will make it worthwhile. He was soooo cute in this drama. I've seen stills of him in Secret Garden & the way he looks there got nothing on TWTTLI. He was just a vision in that show! :-)

Phew! That was a longa$$ comment! Sorry for taking over your timeline!

Since most directors are men anyway, they are unlikely to develop projects in which men look bad so you end up with shows like Unexpected You & TWTTLI where the men are loveable (they make mistakes but are so redeemable that you can't help but love them) & women are shrill, selfish, narcissistic bitches that most female viewers are likely to end up hating rather than be inspired by. I know that's how both Unexpected You & TWTTLI ended up for me.

It annoys me to me to no end. That's why generally speaking I try to avoid any and all forms of entertainment that take a political stance, whether it be about gender, race, orientation or the like, because 9/10 times I will not like the filmmaker's approach & instead of relieving stress I end up being stressed. I'm one of those people that become attached to things easily so I can't leave my emotions out of it.

Now we, particularly in the US, have tons of broken, single parent homes in which children (esp boys because its almost always the father who is gone) have a reduced chance of thriving & becoming productive citizens to society. Not that I'm saying this is always the case since I am a product of a single parent home & I came out just fine. My older brother too.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting question to ponder: how will a deeply conservative, family orientated nation like Korea deal with these adverse consequences if they continue to follow certain (I'd say destructive) paths to achieve gender equality. That's why I believe men have to be a part of the conversation, a part of the solution even though they, in essence, are the problem. I wish more drama writers would realize this & reflect that in their writing.

So in a way I do understand the fear of getting knocked up & having to give up your job ... your financial & emotional independence, but still, our existence as human beings should, imo, be planned around the natural progression of life.

They probably should take an example from the West, learn from the mistakes we made. See how society, in particular families, develop, both for better & worse, under feminism & then try putting their spin on things to avoid any pitfalls as much as possible. But it seems to me from drama (and I am aware that dramas, to a large extent, are not the most reliable source of cultural insight) that the Koreans are heading down same slightly dangerous road the West did.

And any new wave of feminism, whether in the East or the West, should, imo, be developed around the possibility of family because many will come to realize, usually when its too late, that yes indeed 'I do want to have kids but golly now I'm too old to have any of my own'. Of course I realize that women in the region may face insurmountable challenges which influence their behaviour in this regard.

The institutionalized sexism that seem to run rampant in Korea is a huge problem. TWTTLI is the second show I watched about female professionals in the entertainment industry, the other was Unexpected You. Showbiz is an inherently sexist profession, even here in the west, but if these dramas present any true depiction of reality, then the sexism women face in this industry in Korea is even more extreme & probably not so far removed from other professions.

Whatever the case a lot of the dramas I've seen seem to be presenting a subtle but powerful message about gender & sexual equality. I always look positively on these things, but I think they're falling victim to the same tropes of early feminism in West where men are sidelined as the enemies, instead of active agents for change. I also see a lot of 'all or nothing' in dramas, that is to say female characters who sacrifice family for career all the time until some accident happens & she's forced to have a family. We both know from the West's experience with feminism that neither of these two tendencies work.

Men are too intricate a part of women's lives to be sidelined as just enemies and oppressors. They have to be as much a part of gender equality debate as women.

Rita-chan (I'm just realizing you're more of a Japan fan than Korea fan so I'm changing my name for you ;-). Anyway, first I'd like to apologize for not replying to your last msg to me. What happened was that I wanted to post the review of TWTTLI before getting back to you. But then you know how it is ... life gets in the way n sh--. lol

Anyway, to answer your question ... this is what I think. I know nothing of substance about Asia. Before 7-8 mths I had very little interest in the region. But now that I'm totally enamoured by its culture & people, my opinion is that there's a slow revolution happening when it comes to gender politics. If movies/dramas are anything to go by, then the trend towards female empowerment seems more apparent in Korea (or maybe I just watch more Korean shows/movies than any other).